Yellow
by Annabelle Crane
Summary: *Completed* Please note that Chapter 5 is PG-13. Someone's past rocks AI's world. Please Review! (Wes/Fred and A/C) *Bonus material added*
1. Past Prefect

Disclaimer: I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.  
  
Author's Note: This is my first Angel fan fiction. I will admit that all the characters do not act like they do on the show but I really do try. Also my English is not that great, it is not my first language so I will apologize for any grammar mistakes, misused words, and general screw ups now.  
  
I really hope you enjoy it and please review. Romance will happen at some point, most likely it will just be hinted at, but I am a hopeless romantic so.  
  
Note on the Name: Keep in mind the first chapter of this story was written before Angel names his son and when he does name him I will change the name in my story. So don't be surprised if in the second chapter he wakes and says 'Hey, I have decided to name him (insert name chosen on show)."  
  
  
  
Yellow  
  
by Annabelle  
  
She turned her head quickly. Her eyes darted from one corner of the room to another. Nothing was there; she was just imagining things again. Letting out a small breath of relief Winifred Burkle crossed her small bedroom to stand in the center next to the small baby crib that had been placed there a few days ago. Brown tendrils of her hair floated just above the sleeping head of the baby boy. She reached out her hand and stroked his cheek. "Sleep well little one," her voice was soft and there was a faint sadness to it.  
  
How could he not sleep well? He had not spent the last five years of his life in a demon dimension were humans were treated like labor beasts. His mind was never flooded with images of the terrible things that he was made to do and the horrible way he had been treated. He did not wake at night sobbing softly until he fell asleep again. No, he was an innocent little baby who had yet to find out about the cruelties of this world and other worlds around it. Fred sighed looking down at his small sleeping form feeling slightly jealous of him for half a second. Not a day would go by where she did not wish that she could just forget what had happened to her for the last five years of her life and go back to being normal. Only, she was not even sure what normal was for her.  
  
Fred looked at the windowsill to her left and noticed that there was a black marker sitting on it. The marker had been lying there for months now, forgotten. Walking quietly so as not to wake the baby Fred went to pick up it up. She then looked at her blank white walls, taking off the marker cap and leaving it on the windowsill. She walked up close to one of the walls and raised the marker in her hand. Her head was spinning from all these thoughts. If she could just write them down all at once she was sure it would stop.  
  
Then just as she was about to let the marker touch the wall she heard a whimper come from baby. She dashed over to the baby's side and let the marker fall to the floor. "Hush now, everything is okay," she said as she scooped the small boy up in her arms. She bounced the baby up and down a little and held him close as she walked toward the window again.  
  
The sun would be up in another few hours and everyone would be returning. This thought made her happy, as she hated to be left alone in the hotel. Sure she was not really alone because she was there taking care of Angel's son, but how could she protect him if they were attacked by some demon or something like that.  
  
Angel had explained to her that because of her being in Pylea. She was best suited for taking the baby and find a safe place for it and herself if need be. Plus, he added she knew how to care for the baby best out of all of them if anything happened to him. She did not mind much expect they had made a rule for her. If no one returned a half an hour after sun up or did not at least call, she was to take the baby and go straight to Caritas. Once there she was to get money from Lorne and get out of town as fast as she could. Angel told her specifically not go to Sunnydale, which confused her. She thought the safest place for the baby would be Sunnydale where the girl with the funny name could protect it. But Angel insisted that that would be the first place someone would look for her and his son.  
  
So they started to brain storm ideas and throwing them out to be discussed. However none of their ideas offered Fred and the baby any protection, they were basically going to have to keep moving, and keep one step ahead of anyone who was looking for them. Then Angel received a phone call from Rupert Giles, a member of an elite group known as the Watchers Council. Giles, as they all called him, was asking Angel to keep an eye out for any strange happenings in Sunnydale as he had returned to England and was concerned for his slayer and her friends. Angel told him that he would do what he could and told his friends about Giles return to his home country. This prompted Wesley to suggest that they ask the Watcher's Council for help. His suggestion led to hours of discussion, some yelling, and lots of unpleasantness. Then they came up with the idea of just asking Giles for help. Since he was England and had the support of the Slayer, the Council would no doubt do as he asked with out question, for if they did not listen to him they all knew that their Slayer would abandon the Council in a heartbeat.  
  
The plans were made after many phone calls and a lot of explaining. A final decision was reached and help was sought to make things safe for Fred and the baby. If anything happened to Angel and the others Lorne was to give money to Fred to help her and Angel's son get to England, he would of course be paid back as a trip for two to England was not a ten-cent matter. Then Mr. Giles would give her and the baby new identities and would look after them. The Watchers Council was only to be told that she and the baby were to be protected at all costs. The Slayer, Fred still liked to think of her as the girl with the funny name because in all honesty what cruel person names their child Buffy, and her friends in Sunnydale were basically to be told the same thing unless it became absolutely necessary for them to know the whole truth. For some reason Angel was really hesitant about telling Buffy about his son, Fred could not figure out why. She thought everyone would be happy for Angel but she could sense that he did not think that the people in Sunnydale would have a positive reaction to the news that he had a son.  
  
Fred bit her lip a little as she reviewed the escape plan in her head over and over as she held the baby close to her chest and strained her eyes in the darkness to see if she could make out an outline of her friends returning. Then off in the distance she saw two familiar headlights and she let out a breath. Her body started to relax as the image of her three friends were brought into focus. She watched them pull up in front of hotel and looked down at their sleepy forms.  
  
A man in long black leather coat was the first out of the car. "Hey Fred!" Angel called up to her in an excited whisper, "Is that my son you have there?"  
  
"Of course it is doofus," a woman with a chin length hair cut scolded him. "Fred do you really think it is safe to hold him so near a window?"  
  
"Sure it is, don't worry Cordelia," Fred smiled down at them. "It's not like I'm gonna drop him or anything."  
  
"Oh this is so silly," Cordelia turned to Angel. "It is about time you name that boy. He is your own son for crying out loud!"  
  
The dark form of Gunn exited the car and joined in, "Cordy's right man."  
  
"As right as she maybe this is not a conversation to have outside at this hour," the Englishman, Wesley, interjected. "Fred we will meet you downstairs. Come inside everyone."  
  
Fred nodded at Wesley and the others and watched them enter the Hyperion Hotel and she was just about to turn away from the window when she noticed something in the bushes. There were two small twinkles of yellow that looked a bit familiar to her. She looked more closes at the yellow glimmers that looked like tiny globes of light but in the next second they were gone. Fred blinked a couple of times and strained her eyes to see through the darkness, but there was nothing. Whatever had been there was gone now.  
  
"What about William?" Gunn suggested as Fred walked down the stairs.  
  
"No!" Angel said vehemently.  
  
Gunn shrugged, "Just a thought."  
  
"William was Spike's name before he was turned," Wesley whispered to Gunn. Gunn made a sound that indicated he had forgotten that little fact.  
  
"How about Patrick," Cordy said, thinking that Patrick was a pretty good name.  
  
Angel scrunched up his nose as he gently took the baby from Fred once she had finished descending the stairs. "I never really liked that name," he said to them. He smiled a little and bounced his son up and down in his arms.  
  
"What about Liam?" said Fred who was now standing next to Wesley. Everyone just looked at her for a moment not sure of what to say. "Well I mean it was your name but still."  
  
"Fred," Cordelia started to say something but she could not form the words. She looked at the others as if to ask them to say something that would explain what she was thinking.  
  
"Well Fred it is just that," Wesley started to say and lightly put his had on her shoulder. "It is a good suggestion but."  
  
Angel knew that the others were not going to come up with a reason not to give his son his old human name, that or they were not going tell each other why he would never name anyone after his old self. "It would seem like a good idea but," Angel sucked in a breath, regardless of the fact that he did not actually breath. "I never really liked Liam though, the person not the name."  
  
"Oh," was all Fred managed to squeak out.  
  
"Hey it's the thought that counts right," Cordelia tried to let Fred know that they appreciated her effort.  
  
"Yeah, sun's up. I am going into the garden if you guys don't mind. The plants need to be watered." She started to leave before any of them had a chance to answer.  
  
"Fred wait," Angel tried to call after her.  
  
"I'll go talk to her," Wesley told them.  
  
Cordelia shook her head though. "Let me Wesley," she said. When Wesley gave her slightly hurt look Cordelia explained herself. "There is something else going on. I just have this feeling about it." She left the room so no one was given a chance to protest.  
  
She watched Fred for a few moments. The former librarian seemed to be lost in another world of her own. Cordelia felt bad for her and sighed a little. "Hey Fred," she said with a quiet voice. "How are you doing?"  
  
Fred looked up briefly, "Oh fine, fine." She busied herself with the watering can in her hand and seemed to be entranced by it.  
  
"Are you sure," said Cordelia. "I mean I know that was kind of weird and all with Angel and the baby. He will find the right name though. Give it time." Fred just nodded at her. Cordy was unsure of how to bring up what she really wanted to talk about.  
  
The truth was few days ago they had all noticed that Fred never said anything to them about her life before Pylea. Wesley thought this might be inhibiting her recover and adjustment to living in this world. Everyone agreed but they had not found a good way to bring it up. Then came the multiple issues of Angel's son and they put off any thought of talking to her. Now seems to be a good a time as any, Cordy thought to herself. "So Fred," she started to speak in a gentle tone, "how come you never talk about your life before going to Pylea."  
  
"I don't really remember all that much," Fred shrugged. She slowly lifted the can and started to water a new plant. She was very careful not to make eye contact. "I can remember bits and pieces but nothing real. Nothing that I can grasp on. I remember my parents the most. But sometimes," Fred voice started to get quiet and was almost a whisper. "Sometimes I remember this girl. I can just make out her face but it is still a little burly. But I get this feeling that, well that she was my fried. A good friend."  
  
"What was her name," Cordelia asked softly.  
  
Fred shook her head, "I don't remember. It's all fuzzy. Like when you first wake and you have sleep in your eyes and you blink and blink but you can't see until you get up and go put some water on your face. But by the time you do that you have forgotten whatever it was that you were dreaming about and it happens over and over again every day, so you are doomed to never really remember what you were dreaming about." Fred felt a little sad but she pushed the feeling down and kept to the plants. This was something she did not want to talk about.  
  
Cordelia however pressed one with her questions, "Have you tried keeping a journal by you bed. I have heard that if you do that you can write down what you were dreaming about and then review it later."  
  
"Well I don't really know if that would help," Fred started to mumble. "I mean it is all so confusing when I wake up and then I can't even see without my glasses. Besides what if what I dream doesn't make any sense. I mean dreams aren't suppose to make sense. They are just you subconscious working in your sleep and now a days people are saying that they is really no purpose to dreams."  
  
"But if it is about your past then you really should try to remember," Cordelia insisted. "Your past is an important part of you, you can't just- "  
  
"No, no, no," Fred shook her head vehemently. "I can't remember. I don't want to. It hurts too much. I don't want to." With that she threw down the watering can and ran out of the garden.  
  
"Fred!" Cordy ran after her.  
  
"Hey Fred, could you," Angel started to speak as she entered the lobby of the hotel but she ran right past him and head straight for the doors. "Fred, hold on a second."  
  
It was too late though. Fred was gone through the doors of the hotel and into the outside world and there was nothing Angel could do about it because of the sun. He looked around and the rest of the people standing around him. Then he turned to Cordelia. "What happened?" he asked her.  
  
"I was trying to get her to remember stuff and then she totally started to wig out. Then she pulled a Party of Five on me and took off," Cordelia felt bad about what had happened. She might have been pushing too hard, but she wasn't going to let everyone know that it was bothering her.  
  
"Wesley will you," Angel started to ask his friend to go after Fred but Wesley had around put his coat on and was head out the door.  
  
"I'll call as soon as I find her," Wesley said and then was gone.  
  
Everyone stood around for a few more moment but then Gunn spoke up, "Well I am gonna head home and try to get some sleep. See ya guys later. And."  
  
"We'll call when he finds her," Cordelia finished for him. "Have a nice nap Gunn."  
  
Angel and Cordelia stood in the lobby for a while after Gunn had left. They really did not have anything to do or say. They were not looking at each other but rather at Angel's son, who was still in desperate need of a name. The boy started to whimper a little. "Shh, it will be alright," Angel rocked him in his arms but the whimpers did not subside. "I have a feeling that Fred was better at this."  
  
"Hey don't sell yourself short," Cordy scold him lightly. "You are the first vampire parent. Besides no one every gets it right at first. It is a learning process. I am sure that he just senses something is up."  
  
"It's okay," Angel spoke in a whisper to his son, hold the boy close to him. "It's okay Garren, we are will find her."  
  
"Garren," questioned Cordelia. "You are going to name him Garren?" This time her voice had a hit of disgust in it.  
  
"What's wrong with Garren?" Angel asked with is eyebrows a little furrowed.  
  
"Nothing I guess," said Cordelia. "Why don't we put it to a vote when everyone gets back?" She did not like the idea of the future savior of humanity being named Garren.  
  
Angel scowled a little, "A vote? He is my son! Why shouldn't I be able to name him whatever I want?"  
  
"Sure, fine, whatever," she said.  
  
"Well Garren and I are going to bed," he stalked away pretending to be mad, but he really could never be mad at her.  
  
Cordy let out a little moan. "I am the only one here that cares that we stay in business?" she demanded to know from the empty room. She rolled her eyes and decided to start some work. Someone had to keep this place running, besides once Wesley and Fred got back they would insist on her getting some sleep. She started to tie up some old accounts and made a few phone calls to pass the time until they returned.  
  
  
  
Fred had stop running a while ago. She was out of breath and her feet hurt. Eventually she would go back to the hotel, it was the safest place, but right now she just wanted to outside of the hotel grounds. Fear was keeping Fred away from her friends. It was the fear of something familiar, something that had happened before. She just could not put her finger on it. The one thing that she did know was that it was best that she stay away from the hotel and Angel's baby until she found out what was scaring her.  
  
"Fred!" She heard a male voice call out to her and knew who it was before she looked around at him. Closing her eyes and saying a silent prayer that it was not him she turned. Wesley was standing just a few yards away from her and once he was sure that it was her he started to run toward her.  
  
At first she smiled and let him get closer to her, but then she remembered what was going on. Unsure of what to do she just stood there for a few seconds. Then something in her head clicked and she started to run away from him and towards something else.  
  
"Fred wait!" she heard him call out to her. "Please Fred, I just want to help." She just kept running though.  
  
She ran past a few alleyways and was about turn down one of them when something grabbed her. "Wesley no!" she shouted in protest because she was sure that he had caught her. What she had not realized was that it could not be him because what she had been pulled into an alley. Not realizing this she turned to yell at Wesley for not letting her be, but she found that her voice was caught in her throat. There standing in front of her was something that scared her more than demons that she had faced the past five years. Something that filled her with so much dread that she felt like her mind and body were frozen. So using what sense she had left Winifred Burkle screamed. 


	2. Subjective Present

**ATTN: I am looking for a beta reader. I am horrible at proofreading and I just need someone who will be willing to read the story first before I post it. Make sure that the grammar works and the plot flows correctly. No experience is necessary; I just want another set of eyes to help me out. If you want to help please e-mail: annabelle_felicity@hotmail.com**

**LOOKING FOR BETA READER!**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done. 

**Authors Note**: I have put replies to the feedback at the end of the story. Also as stated before the baby's name is now going to be changed from Garren to the name they have given him on the show, which is Connor. Sorry it took awhile to get up, I haven't really proofread this so if anyone would like to volunteer, I am looking for a beta reader, please? Oh yeah, please review! 

**Yellow – Chapter 2**  
_by Annabelle _

Panting from lack of oxygen Winifred looked at the creature that stood before her. It was obviously female and had cat like features, which included a fine layer of black fur with thin sliver strips streaking across in a chaotic pattern. The strangest feature of all though was the yellow eyes that Fred was now staring into. They were the same hue as the two glimmers she saw back at the hotel. The glints of yellow light that seemed so familiar. She stood these with all this different thoughts racing through her mind and then images started to hit her in waves. 

Ten years ago, she was running in her back yard. She had been laughing at something and was out of breath. She was running from someone. "I am gonna find you Winnie," a lighthearted voice called out to her. But she kept hiding in the bushes. Giggling silently to herself. She was watching for something. Everything was so warm, happy and just lovely, then there was a flash of bright light. 

Now she was inside her house. It was a few years later. She looked around for a moment and heard noises in the living room. Slowly she started to walk toward the room without making a sound. She pushed the door to the entrance and saw that everything was dark. Just as she was about to turn to leave the lights came on and people sprung up from everywhere around the room. They were shouting at her and laughing. She was not scared though. Happiness was washing over her and she felt loved. The faces of the people around her were all blurry, everyone but her mother and father. She could make them out clearly. Turning towards her left she saw the yellow glimmers again and tried to focus on them. She willed her past self to move closer but just as things were starting to come into focus the scene changed. 

It was months later. She felt sad and scared. She was sitting alone in her room and there were a few tears coming down her check. Then she heard a soft muffled noise coming from across the room. There was someone coming toward her and they were moving slowly. Fred could make out long strands of hair but she could not figure out the color. The body was shaking all over and seemed weak. Carefully she reached out her hand and felt another press against it. A smile crept across her face but there was still worry in her veins. But it was not worry for her self; it was worry for this other person. "I am scared Winnie," the same voice from her early vision spoke but this time it was meek and trembling. "I know this is the way it has to be but I am just so scared." She was about to say something when the white light from before blinded her and she found herself back in the alley. 

She was still staring into the yellow eyes of the creature. Then it hit her. This creature was something from her past. That was what she was so afraid of. Sure some of her past she could face. Little bits and pieces of it. But this creature represented a lot of it, the good memories and the bad. This is what she was running from and trying to hide from. Her past was not something she wanted to face. Clutching her fists she gave the female creature a determined look. 

"No," she told the she beast. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to remember! Leave me alone. I don't want to!" 

"You have to," it spoke in a gruff but familiar voice. 

Fred was about to protest when more images started to hit her. Faster this time and more recent. The end of high school and she was standing with a girl whose face was just out of focus. Fred could tell that this was the same girl from her other memories. They were talking about something and crying a little. The girl seemed worried for her, afraid of where she was going. But Fred told her that she would be perfectly safe in Los Angeles. 

"I am going to go with you," the girl's voice sounded so similar to the creatures, but why? "Just for the first few months. Until I have to go to England. Then I will only be gone for a little while and I will come back." 

"You really shouldn't," Fred told her. "It's getting too close. Besides it's safer for you there. I'll be fine." 

"I am not going to take no for an answer," her accent was slightly different then other Texans. Almost like she had lived in England for a little while. "Besides it is my job." 

"You don't owe me anything," Fred reassured her. "I helped because I wanted to and because you're my friend. My best friend. You have always been there for me. Even when you aren't really there I feel like a small part of you is. Even if it's your job," she smiled again the girl's face started to come into focus a little. The two of them laughed and then they were not at the high school any more. 

Now she was in her old apartment in LA. Things were decorated in a style that was not quite her own but they blended with things that were clearly hers. The rooms were painted with vibrant colors and the furniture matched. The only thing that wasn't colored wood or plastic was her old writing desk, which sat in the corner of the living room near the big bay window that over looked the city. Hanging above the window were five spider plants all in a row. Pushed up against another wall was a large fish tank and there were pictures done by modern artists hanging on almost every wall space. The whole apartment was very loud in a way and was definitely not something she would have chosen on her own. 

"Now Winnie," it was the girl from before calling to her from another room. "Don't forget to water the plants every three days and feed the fish every other evening, but not too much. And clean their tank when the water starts to get murky. I left the phone number of the place that I will be staying and even if I am not there someone will be there to send help if you need it." 

"You're only going to be gone for a month. I think I can handle myself for that long," Fred called back to her a little upset that she was not being trusted. "I have been training with you for years now. I might not be as strong, but I am quick." Fred looked at the girl as she entered the room. Her face was now in full focus. She had average length dark hair, dark eyes to match, and she was average build and height. The girl looked perfectly average. 

"You are brilliant, quick, smart, and," the girl let out a groan as she pushed the heavy trunk into the living, "right now you are probably just as strong as I am. Here Winnie will you help me with this." 

Fred sighed, "Yes Evie." That was the girl's name. Fred and finally been able to remember her name. "You know the only reason you can't do this on your own is because you are taking those organic compounds of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressants. It is really quite fascinating to see their affect on you. It is very drastic." 

"Well as fascinating as it is to you Winifred it is a pain in the butt for me," Evie complained. "I can't even lift this bloody trunk!" 

"You have been speaking with your father haven't you," Fred asked Evie because she noticed that her accent was more pronounced. 

"Might have," Evie grumbled. Fred gave her a look. "Well he did book the flight." 

"It is good that you are talking to him Evelyn," that was her full name. Her full name was Evelyn Rose, oh what was her last name. "He does want to help. Besides you will get to spend time with him now." 

"Piffle!" Evelyn was angry. "He isn't going to be there." 

"But he said-" Fred started. 

"Well his isn't now. Even though he is out of a job he still can't make it," Evie was starting to turn slight red in the face. "The most important time of my life and he can't be there just like he couldn't be there for me like all the other times I asked for him. You know I had to beg him to come see me this holiday. You know what he said. He said he would try but most likely he wouldn't be able to come." 

"But he will at least call you won't he," Fred tried to make her friend feel better. "I know that when you were younger he would always come until he couldn't anymore cause of his job. But he always called." 

"Not the same," Evie sighed and they heard the doorbell buzz. "Well that will be the limo service. Come downstairs with me and say goodbye." The vision ended and Fred was again standing looking the beast in the eyes. 

"Evie," Fred ventured. 

A scary smile came over the feline face, "Yes it's-" Evie's voice, which was hoarser than in the visions because of her monster form, was cut off. Wesley had burst into the alley and tackled her thinking that she was attacking Fred. 

"Wesley," Fred called out to him. 

"It's alright Fred. I have her," Wesley pinned Evelyn down and punched her stomach. 

Evelyn let out a roar and swiped one of her clawed hands over his chest giving his shirt five neat rip marks and slightly cutting his chest. She struggled against him but she felt weak. "Help me," she begged of Fred. 

Wesley was stunned for a moment but did not let go of her, "Fred?" 

"Wesley it's alright. Let her go," Fred walked closer to them. "She's really weak now. She didn't mean to hurt you but she had to defend herself. You did hit her." Fred touched Evie's feline face, "Are you okay Evie?" 

"Cold, tired," was all Evie managed to say. 

"Fred, you know her?" Wesley still did not understand what was going on. 

Fred nodded, "She doesn't always look like this but yes, she is my friend. Wesley this is Evelyn. Evelyn this is Wesley." 

"Pleasure," Evie coughed out. "Change." 

"I beg your pardon," Wesley was slightly offended thinking that she was telling him to change. 

"She means she is going to change now. She is too weak to keep this form for long. Turn your eyes for a moment," Fred explained. "And give me your coat." 

Wesley understood now and shrugged off his coat. "I hope it is long enough," he spoke softly as he handed it her and turned around. 

Fred watched as the feline in front of her shrink a back into the form of Evelyn, "Here." 

Evelyn sat up to take the coat and wrapped it around her. It thankfully covered everything it needed to, "Bad thing about being in demon form, no cloths." Her voice was still a little raspy but it seemed to be that way for another reason. 

"It's okay now Wesley," Fred told him as she helped Evelyn to her feet. 

"Thanks, Wesley right," Evelyn held out her very human hand to him. 

"Yes," Wesley shook it. "Not to sound rude or anything but would someone mind explaining going on to me." 

"I'm an old friend of Fred's and I came for a visit," Evie stated simply. Then she realized what he meant. "Oh, you mean the Bastlian bit back there?" 

"Bastlian?" Wesley was slightly confused. "I have never heard of that type of demon before." 

"Well I should hope not!" Evelyn was now sounded offended. 

Fred smiled awkwardly and tried to explain. "Bastlians were named after the Goddess Bast because they are her demon warriors and guardians. They are very rare" 

"See, rare demon warrior guardian. Not just demon, demon warrior guardian," Evelyn gave Wes a snubbed look. 

"Well I can see the huge difference now but while you were trying to rip my lungs out demon and demon warrior guardian seemed very similar," Wesley rolled his eyes. 

"I don't care for him that much," Evelyn looked at Fred. She had been leaning her weight against her friend because she knew that she could not stand on her own. "Besides, I wasn't trying to rip his lungs out. I just wanted him off me. I am fairly weak right now. Hitting a girl while she's down, where did you meet such an awful fellow Fred?" 

"He is my friend and he helped save me from the demon world that I was in," Fred sighed. "Now shut up before he decides not to help you back to the hotel." 

"Help her back to the hotel, I don't think that is such a- did you just tell her to shut up?" Wesley was shocked. 

Fred ignored his question, "We have to help her. She is really a good person. Besides she can't go anywhere else. She doesn't have the strength." 

"Why doesn't she," Wesley asked as he stood on Evelyn's other side and let her lean some of her weight on him. "She looks very ill, what happened?" 

"Always so mean to me that one. Anyway it's all the bloody drugs and viruses that they keep pumping me with," Evelyn mumbled. "Oh I feel dizzy." 

"Come on Evie," Fred encouraged her. "Just hang on and we will get you some help." But Fred was not heard because Evie had just passed out. 

"Fred not to press the issue but what is wrong with her," Wesley picked up Evelyn in his arms. 

"A controlled virus and some muscle represents to help keep her body temperature down," Fred explained. "The virus won't affect us or the baby. Just demons." 

"But why?" Wesley continued to question her. 

Fred looked around the alley for a moment. "Let's just get her to the hotel so she will be safe," Fred begged. "I'll explain everything once we are all safe, okay?" 

Wesley sighed and saw that he had no choice to but fulfill her request. They started to walk out the alley and head back to the hotel. "Fred," Wesley had one more question that was bothering him. "Why did you run from me?" He was a little scared to hear the answer and if it was what he thought then he did not want to her speak it. "Is it because you are afraid of me?" 

"Wesley of course not," Fred shook her head. "How could you think that? I was just scared of, well my past. Evelyn was near by the whole time I was running and she was making me remember by sending me these images and thoughts. I was frightened by all of it. So I ran. It wasn't you Wesley. I will never be afraid of you, well unless you were possessed by some type of evil force, but other than that." 

Despite the situation Wesley let out a small chuckle, "Well that is good to know. Let's hurry than, everyone is waiting for us." Fred nodded and they headed quickly for the hotel. 

Cordelia was totally lost in thought. Everything that had happened over the last few months just started to hit her all at once. For now they were safe. Angel had seen to that when he went to have his little talk with Wolfram & Hart. But Holtz was still a huge factor in destroying they momentary peace. Cordy frowned. 

It just was not fair that something that Angel could never have and now did have could be taken away from him so easily. Sure he had killed Holtz's family but that was way back when he did not have a soul. "Can't he see that he is totally a different person, vampire now," Cordy called out angrily to no one. "He has a soul for crying out loud." 

It was no secret. She hated Holtz and if she could she would kill him. No one should try to take a baby away from his family, not even as payback. It just was not right. Angel had been through so much in his life and now, well now it just seemed like enough to Cordelia. The whole torched soul thing was starting to seem pretty old to her and she just wished that there was something that she could do to make it okay for him, even for just a moment. One moment where he did not have to worry about the rest of the world trying to attack him or the people he cared about. If she someone told her that giving up her right arm would let him live with that kind of peace than she would do it in a heart beat. But no mystical being was going to pop and give her the chance to give up her arm or any other part of her body. 

Cordelia was just about to continue her great rant when her head started to feel like it was going to spilt open. A vision started to flash in her mind and it caused pain to sweep across her whole body. Then she saw the images a bit more clearly and she let out a terrifying scream. 

"Cordy," Angel came running into the lobby and the baby's cries could be heard in the background. "Cordy, speak to me." 

"Wesley," Cordelia managed to gasp out. "Monster attacked him. Claws. Fred was screaming." 

"Where were they," Angel pressed on. 

Cordelia shook her head. The pain was starting to subside and she was able to comprehend everything more clearly. "Wait you can't go," she said. "Hello, sunlight?" 

"We'll call Gunn and you can meet up with him," Angel thought quickly. "Besides I have to stay here and take care of Connor." 

"Connor? What happened to Garren?" asked Cordy 

Angel smiled, "I like Connor better. Now go get some weapons, I'll call Gunn." 

"I wouldn't recommend that," a man's voice spoke to them from the entrance of the hotel. "It would be a waste of time. Your friends are fine." 

Angel and Cordelia looked toward the doors of the hotel and refused to believe what they saw. The person standing before them, well he could not be there. It was impossible. But there he was, standing there and telling them not to worry. 

"What are you doing here," the both called out at the same time. Totally confusion could not being to describe the state that their minds were in because there standing in front of them was Rupert Giles. 

**Replies to Feedback**: First of all wow! Thank you all so much for you feedback, I didn't expect people to hate the story but I didn't expect so many people to like it. Thanks so much! So as per request I have starting writing more ASAP. 

**SuperGirl**: I wrote more. Actually I got you message when I am just about done with this chapter. So I hope you like this part as much. 

**Rebecca**: I love Toy Story and the green dinasoar!! Sorry just had to get that out of the way first. Thanks for the feedback. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the first one! 

**DarkAngelGirl**: You were suppose to be left hanging, how else could I make people keep reading if I gave you everything at once? Also thanks for the feedback on Fred, I worked really hard on her scene with Cordelia, at first it was really short but I decided that Fred tends to build up in her frustration and that it does not happen all at once. 

**AlexisPryce**: I know you! I have read your work which is totally stellar. It means a lot that you like my story. I hope you keep writing too! 

**Jay**: Well as my note on name message said, I will be changing the name to what they are using on the show. To tell the truth I don't really like Garren either but it was just way to complex to keep calling the baby Angel's son, him, he, it, I needed to give him a name. Thanks for the Fred feedback, I really like her in the show and I feel like I have more insight about her than the others. Gunn is really hard for me but hopefully I will get him down at some point. 

**Majiklmoon**: Yes there is more to come, well yeah, anyway thanks for you e-mail it was very appreciated and a nice surprise! 

**Priya**: C/A is coming. Not right away though and it will probably be more angsty I want to try to stay true to the show. As for the title, well you will just have to wait and see. 

**Indigo**: If I told you what's next why would you keep reading? LOL! Wait and see, although I might start to add previews for the next chapter, what do you think? 

**Annlynn**: It is my first Angel fan fiction, have been around the fan fic world for awhile now but mostly doing bad work. I would like to say that this is my second good fan fic and it is better than my first good fan fic. Thanks for support. I will keep writing.


	3. Imperfect Regular

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done. 

**Pairings**: I promise it will be Wes/Fred and C/A, you are just going to have to wait a bit. 

**Distribution**: As far as I know, WesleyFred mailing list, Angelfic mailing list, Fanfiction.net, Bookish, A Whole New World, and Majiks World of Fan Fic. Anyone else, ask first, please! 

**Author's Note**: Okay this chapter is long and a lot of stuff is explained so guess what? The chances of you guys getting another chapter before Christmas are very slim. Yes I am mean and demon spawn, but honestly I don't have the time what with the holidays and all. As usual there are replies to the feedback at the end of the chapter. 

Major feedback may lead to chapter before Christmas. Hint, hint! 

**Thank you**: To my wonderful Beta Reader, MeriBeth. You are the greatest and you keep me in check! 

**Yellow** – Chapter 3   
_by Annabelle_

"Hello," the English man finally moved from the doors of the hotel and walked toward them carrying what looked like a very heavy bag. "Angel I do believe your son is umm, crying for you?" 

"Oh yeah," Angel finished helping Cordelia get up. "I'll be right back." 

"Good then," Giles smiled faintly and sat down on that round couch at the center of the lobby setting the bag next to him. 

As Angel left to tend to his son Cordy could not help but ask the question she had asked just a few moments early, "What are you doing here Giles?" 

"Yeah aren't you suppose to be in England," Angel continued when he and Connor came back. 

Giles held out his hands to take the baby. Angel was reluctant at first but saw no harm in letting the former watcher hold him. "I was looking for someone," said Giles. He bounced the baby a little bit and smiled at him. "Your son is doing quite well I'd say Angel." 

"He is," Angel still eyed Giles. "And your part of making sure that he stays that way was to be in England." 

"Well as circumstances are I cannot afford to be there at this moment," Giles handed the baby back to him. 

"Who are you looking for Giles," Cordelia ignored his annoying manner of being mysterious about the whole situation. She wanted answers. 

"The person that you saw with your friends in your vision, no doubt. I figured that I would come here and look for her first but I see that the reason that she came to Los Angeles is not here right now," Giles was speaking in riddles and it was starting to get on everyone's last nerve. 

"I want a straight answer Giles," Angel hissed at him. "What are you doing here? Who is this person, or beast as it may be, that you are looking for? And why are you looking for them?" 

"I think it is best that we wait until your friends and she arrive back here. It should be any moment now," Giles did not look at any of them. He concentrated on rubbing his glasses with a cloth. 

Before Cordelia or Angel had a chance to open their mouths again the door to the hotel was thrown open and Fred and Wesley walked in. Wesley was holding what looked like a very ill girl in his arms who was wrapped in his coat. They all noticed the rips in his shirt, which Cordelia recognized from her vision. 

"Oh my god, Wesley are you alright," Cordelia ran to the behind the desk to get the first aid kit. "Did that claw demon attack you and that girl?" 

"How did you, oh you had a vision," Wesley answered his own question. 

"Thank god," Giles leaped from his seat. "Is she alright?" 

"Yeah is fine Mr. Giles," said Fred. "Just a little tried from her trip." 

"Here lay her down on the couch," Giles helped Wesley arrange her body. "Winifred, please get me the thermometer from the bag. It should be in the second zipper pocket on the left side." Fred nodded and started to search the bag. 

"Okay obliviously I missed something here," said Cordy in a rather annoyed tone. "Since when do Fred and Giles know each other? What is that girl doing here? And what happened to the demon I saw attack you two?" 

"Well, she is the demon," Wesley pointed to the girl. 

"Her name is Evelyn," Fred sounded a little defensive. "And she is not a bad demon. She is kind of like Angel." 

"That answers some of the questions," Angel spoke up now. "But how do you know Giles, Fred?" 

"I met him," Fred didn't look at any of them. She just handed the thermometer to Giles. "A long time ago." 

"Not so long," Giles smiled at her. "I was there at your graduation." 

"The one thing you managed to be there for," a rather garbled voice spoke. It was the girl, she and woken up. 

"Oh Evie, you're awake," Fred rushed to the girl's side. "I was kinda worried. Lay still a moment okay. I'll get you some soup and your dad can finish taking your temperature." Evie nodded her reply and gave Giles a little glare. 

"Wait a minute!" Cordelia cried out again. Scaring Connor a bit, he started to whimper but Angel calmed him. "Giles is her father. I mean he is Evelyn's father?" 

"Yes, I am," Giles sighed and took the thermometer out of Evie's mouth. He looked at it for a moment, "97.5, you are getting better." 

"So sorry," Evie pouted at him. 

"Evie not now please," Giles begged her. "Here take some of the soup that Fred has for you." 

"I want some clothes," Evie stated flatly. 

Fred started to head up the stairs, "I'll go get you some." 

"Winifred wait," Giles stopped her. "I think Evie owes us all an explanation. There a lot of people worried about you back in England. It took some effort to track you down." 

"Fine," Evie stood up a little shaky. "Fine, fine fine! You want an explanation? I will give you one. You never told me that she was back. You knew and you never told me. So I had to find out from a demon seer who I am not even very good friends with. He told me. I had to fight him for the information too, do you know how un-fun that is?" She paused for a moment but did not let anyone bother to answer the question before she started talking again. "Not fun at all. Especially after having muscle relaxants pumped into me. So that is why I am here dear father. Because I have a job to do and even though you tried to stop me I am still going to be here and do my job." 

Giles sighed and looked at the floor, "Evie, I wasn't trying to stop you from doing your job. I just wanted to make sure that you would be safe. You know that this is a very hard time for you." 

"Yeah I do," Evie flapped her arms. "But then you wouldn't know how hard would you. You were never there. You weren't there the first time, just like you have never been there for me all the other times I have needed you." 

"Evie please," Giles looked as if he had tears in his eyes. "We have been through this. I can't apologize enough for what you have been through." 

"No, you can't," Evelyn kept glaring at him. 

Cordy waved her hand as if to single a time out, "Um, not that we all aren't enjoying your soap opera here, but there are still a few unanswered questions." 

"Yeah the whole part where you come and attack Wesley, what your job is, why are you here, and how the hell is Giles your father to name a few," said Angel. He was not happy with all the ruckus that was going on. It was starting to upset Connor and he did not want his son to be put through any more trauma then need be. 

Evie took a deep breath. Then she looked at Fred. Her friend had been quiet this whole time. Fred understood what was going and she knew that she could count on her to explain. Evie also knew that these people would be more likely to believe Fred than her. She nodded her head at Fred and the girl came forward. 

"Evie is like my guardian," Fred explained. "It is her job to make sure that I stay safe, because well, I saved her life one time. In return she watches out for me for the rest of my life. 

"Giles is her adopted father. That's how I know him. Evie was sent to live in Texas when she was just about four. We have been best friend ever since we meet. I didn't know that she was a demon until the day that I saved her life. Her aunt and uncle, well they aren't really her aunt and uncle. They explained everything to me. They also told me that I could never tell my parents. So I didn't. 

"She didn't mean to attack Wesley. Evie was trying to make me remember what I had forgotten, what I was refusing to remember. And Wesley, well he thought that she was attacking him me, so he tackled her. But she only scratched him in self-defense, she would never really hurt someone unless they were trying to kill her or me. Besides she is too weak to now anyway." 

"You keep saying that Fred," Wesley spoke softly to her. "What does that mean?" 

"Once a year," Giles started to explain to them. When he spoke Evie softened her glare at him a little. "The Bastlian race goes through something similar to a cat going through heat. The only difference is that not all Bastlians are ready to produce offspring. Half Bastlians, such as Evelyn, would not be able to live through the gestation process until they turned twenty-seven or sometimes older. However the age of maturity is eighteen for any of them, and since they give off such high amounts of pheromones to attract mates it makes the chances of a half Balstian living to the age of twenty-seven very slim." 

"So why not just keep her cooped up in a room or something," asked Cordy. 

"Yeah that would work. Why didn't I think of that years ago?" Evie rolled her eyes but Giles gave her a stern look. 

"The pheromone levels are so high that anyone in close proximity to a Bastlian in heat goes semi-nuts with sexual energy. Also because Bastlians are all going through this at once it makes it very easy for them to track another Bastlian down, even if they are hundreds of miles away." 

"But I thought you said that Bastlians were rare," Wesley asked Fred. 

"We are," Evie answered. "But durning mating season a Bastlian will use any means to find a mate. It can get kind of bloody." 

"So great," Cordy's voice had an exasperated tone to it. "Now we are going start going all crazy with the sex drive. That is going to be so much fun." 

"Oh don't worry about," Evie snapped a little. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Not as long as my temperature can't reach above 98.6, you all be fine." 

"What are you talking about," Angel was starting to understand a little bit more what was going on. Evie was sick, but she was for a reason. If she was carrying a virus he did not want her anywhere near his son. 

"The Watcher's Council has developed a type of virus that will only infect Bastlians. It is very localized and it makes Evie sick enough to keep her temperature down. Also they use muscle relaxants to make her body susceptible to the virus and to keep her immune system from ridding her body of the virus completely," Giles kept explaining and still gave Evelyn a look to show that he was not pleased with her behavior. "That way she will be unable to give off any pheromones." 

"See, all's good in the land now. For humans, demons, and baby boys alike," Evie smiled at them. But Angel and Cordelia just gave her a strange look from where they were standing. Evelyn had noticed that the whole time they had been talking the two had inched closer to each other. They had not meant to but they did. She was about to use a trick that a demon cousin of hers had once taught her but before she could focus the talking started up again. 

"So how did you manage to adopt her," Wesley asked. "And how come if the Council knew about her I have never heard anything about her before." 

"Oh, oh," Evie started to jump up and down like Wesley had just said something that really excited her. "I can answer that. He killed my mother when he was twenty-one so his dad and the Council forced him to adopt me. But they wanted to keep that the fact that they had a half demon in their pocket very hush, hush so only a few of the top people know about me." 

"So why did I get a vision of you attacking Wesley and Fred if you are a good guy, girl," Cordelia was not really asking the question. 

"I knew it," Evelyn cried out. "I knew it. I knew it. I knew it!" 

"Knew what," Cordy was starting to get upset with this new comer 

Evelyn looked at her oddly, "You really haven't figured it out yet have you? All this time and you haven't the faintest idea." 

"Faintest idea of what," Angel inched closer to Cordelia. As if he was moving to protect her. 

Evie sighed, "Hello, The Power That Be. Their plan?" Everyone but Giles and Fred gave her a blank look. "Okay, guess not. How about this then? Why do you get your visions, to help people right? Well, why only those certain people? What about the other twenty or more people that are being attacked by demons every day? Why not send you a vision two seconds earlier, or even two minutes earlier so that you have a better chance of saving the person? The Powers That Be are very powerful beings. They transcend time, space, and well everything. Why not make your job easier?" Again no one answered. 

"Why on earth send you a vision of a woman who disappeared five years ago? Why not send it to you sooner? Or send it to another seer before she got pulled out of this world? So that her guardian could protect her, so she didn't have to go through hell," Evie's voice was starting to become choked. "I'll tell you why. Because they have a bloody plan. A plan that we are all just parts of. Isn't that just wonderful!" 

Everyone stared at her. Tears were rolling down her check slowly but no one said a word. Fred was the first to move and she took Evie's hand. 

"Come on," Fred's voice was barely audible. "Let's get you into some clothes and you can lay down." Evie didn't say anything. She just let herself be lead up the stairs to Fred's room. No one from the lobby protested as they watched the girls go up the stairs. 

Once they were inside Fred's small room with the baby cradle in the center Evie just stood there not saying anything. Fred went to her dresser and pulled some oversized sweets that she had. She showed Evie to the bathroom and got dampened a washcloth then let her change. 

While Evelyn was inside Fred turned down the sheets and tested the soup that she had made. It was barely warm, but it would be good if Evie ate some of it. Then she came out of the bathroom and Fred helped her into the bed. Then she pulled up a chair and sat next to her. 

"Are you feeling any better," asked Fred. She picked up the soup and spoon and handed it to Evelyn. 

"No, but that is a good thing," Evelyn took the spoon to her mouth. "This is awful, it's cold." 

Fred laughed but then she looked away and out of the window. "You know, it's not your fault," Fred was really quiet. "None of it is." 

Evie didn't look at her, "I guess I do. But I still feel like I should have been able to do something. You know I looked for you. Before I found out that you were taking to another dimension. I looked. Did you parents tell you?" 

"No," Fred shook her head. "But I am sure they meant to." 

Evie laughed, "You know that's not true. They blame me, because I was gone. They knew that you would be safe if I was there. I told them that I would try my best to find you, when you first disappeared. But after about two weeks I told them that there was no chance that I would be able to find you. The resources that I had just weren't enough. They were mad." 

"Yeah I suppose so," Fred sighed. "But they were mad at the wrong person. We both know that." 

"Why," Evie voice trembled. "Why did you forget about me?" 

Fred was starting to feel wicked now. She felt awful. How could she forget her best friend. "I don't know," Fred shook her head. "I guess it wasn't you that I wanted to forget. It was everything else that came with remembering you. All the things about The Powers. About knowing that we all have our destiny and even though we can change things along the way eventually we will end up walking the path that was chosen for us. I did not want to face all of that the first time. I guess it was a way for me not having to deal with it again." 

"Yeah," Evie sniffled. "I understand that. I wish that I could forget that stuff too sometimes." She tugged at the shirt she had on a bit, "You got so small. Look at you. These clothes barely fit." 

"Yeah well I was living in a cave for the last five years," Fred explained to her. 

"Oh," was all Evelyn could think to say. 

After a few moments of silence Fred smiled at her old friend, "Well why don't we talk about something else, huh Evie?" 

"What did you have in mind Winnie," Evie smiled back, although Fred could tell that it was forced. 

"You know, people call me Fred now," she said. 

"Yeah, I noticed that," Evie shook her head with defiance. "But to me you will always be Winnie!" 

"I figured," Fred rolled her eyes. 

"Piffle," Evie lightly slapped Fred's hand. "Now, what about that girl and the vampire?" 

"You mean Cordelia and Angel," Fred corrected her. "Wait I thought you knew their names?" 

"I didn't. I just know about them," Evie informed her. "That demon I beat up just told me a little about the people here. There was a female seer, a vampire, and two humans. That is pretty much it." 

"Oh well the girl is named Cordelia, she's a seer like you said, Angel is a vampire with a soul, Wesley is the boss of the whole operation, and Gunn is the muscle," Fred explained. "Oh you haven't meet Gunn yet. But you'll like him, he is nice." 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Evie waved her hand. "So tell me what is going on between Angel and Cordelia?" 

"Well nothing," Fred replied. 

"But I see it, can you see it," Evie asked Fred. 

Fred laughed, "Of course I can see it. Everyone can except for them." 

"Well why don't you do something about it," Evie was frustrated with the people around her. 

"Because, well of the curse," Fred stammered 

"Curse? What curse?" 

"Only the one where that if he has one true moment of happiness he goes all evil and tries to kill everyone in the world," Fred explained to her then she took the thermometer that Giles had given to her and stuck it in Evie's mouth.. 

"Oh, well you know what they say," Evie smiled wickedly, her words all muffled. "True love conquers all." 

"I don't know if that applies to curses," Fred smiled back. Then she took the thermometer out of Evelyn's mouth and held it to the light. "98.2, that was higher than last time and that was less than an hour ago." 

"That can't be good," Evie tried to laugh but instead she coughed. "Better go call my dad. He will be oh so interested in this." 

"Evie," Fred scolded her, "I thought you two were getting along now." 

"Yeah we are I guess," she sighed. "But it still doesn't make up for all the other times." 

"I know," Fred sympathized, "But he is trying." 

"That he is," Evie leaned back in the bed and closed her eyes. "That he is." 

"Do you want to sleep now," Fred was a little worried for her friend. 

"No, I am fine. But you still better go tell my dad about my temperature. He will want to know," she looked at her friend. "I am fine, really. I mean I have almost gotten used to being injected once a year with viruses and drugs. It is just the people here that I am not used yet." 

"Once you get to know them and they get to know you things will go a little smoother," said Fred as she pressed a cold washcloth on her friend's forehead. 

"I suppose. Once they stop staring at me like I am the biggest freak in the world," Evelyn pouted now. "I guess I should not have told them about The Powers That Be having a reason for everything. I think it made Cordelia jumpy." 

"I don't know," Fred smiled sadly at her. "I'll go get your dad. You will be alright for a moment?" 

"Yes!" Evie exclaimed. "What a minute! I know what this is. This is pay back for all those times that I doubled checked to make sure that you were safe, isn't it!" 

"Maybe," Fred winked at her. "I'll be right back!" 

"It won't work Winnie!" Evie called after her. "When I get better I will smother you with attention!" 

Fred laughed to herself as she closed the door behind her and headed down the stairs of the hotel from the lobby. She could hear the voices below in heated conversation. It made her glad that she had taken Evelyn up to her room. It would have only upset her friend to hear people speak so angrily to her father. Evie would never have admitted to anyone but she very much loved him and was as fiercely protective of him as she was of Fred. 

"I can't believe you didn't tell anyone Giles," Angel shouted at him. 

"All these years and you never said a word," Cordelia's voice was just as loud. 

Rupert Giles had taken of his glasses and was rubbing them with a cloth that he kept in his pocket. "It was not my decision to make," he told them. "The Council told me not to ever tell anyone about her because she might be used against me and the slayer at one point. Besides which, the whole part of her being half Bastlian made it all too tempting for them to keep her as their pet project. I was only twenty-one! I had only just resided to the fact that being a Watcher was something that I had to do. Then to have a child thrust upon me was a bit much." 

Wesley who had remand quiet for the most part felt his voice come to him, "You killed her mother! For god sakes man!" 

"He did not mean to," Fred explained in a soft voice, just loud enough for everyone to hear her. 

"How did you," Giles started to speak. 

Fred took in a breath. "I was there. The day that she found out about it. It was a painful day for both of us. I just found out that she was a demon and she had just found out that you had accidentally killed her mother. Then we both got the whole talk about The Powers That Be that Evie just gave you Cordy. You can't imagine how scary that is to two twelve year old girls." 

Everyone had fell silent in thought. Fred took a breath and then turned to Giles. "Mr. Giles, Evie's temperature is starting to rise." 

"What is it," Giles had worry in his voice. 

"98.2," Fred handed him the thermometer that she had brought down. 

Giles held it up to the light as if hoping to find that Fred had misread it. He sighed as he brought it back down, "Well this can't be good." He started to rub his temples. "I begged her to wait you know. When I found out she knew. But she just couldn't anymore. She had to come and-" 

"It is okay Mr. Giles," Fred interrupted him. "I understand, it is her job. She needs to be here. Besides she still feels awful about the first time. I guess it was too much like reliving the past of her, being away. She wanted to set it right, so she came." 

"Nevertheless," Giles felt a little like he was scolding his former Slayer. "Well I will go up and see her now. Are you coming Winifred?" 

"I'll be up in a minute," She smiled at him. "I kinda need to talk to you guys. Explains some more about what is going on," she looked at her friends. He nodded and started to head up the stairs. The he turned around and just as Giles was about to ask her, Fred called out, "She is on the third floor, room 314." 

"Yes, thank you," he turned back around and continued back up the stairs. 

After he left there everyone just stood in silence. Then when Fred was about to speak Gunn walked into the hotel. "Hey you all. Why didn't you call to tell me that Fred was back," Gunn was smiling at them and then he got a good look at everyone around him. "Well why so grim? What's going on?" 

"Fred was just about to explain to us," Cordelia told him. "Weren't you?" 

"Cordy," Wesley gave her a warning. "I think she has been through quite a lot today without having to answer to you." 

"I am just saying," Cordy tried to defend herself but even Angel was giving her a look that said to back off. "Fine." 

"Look you guys," Fred started to speak but her voice was shaky a little. "I'm really sorry about all of this. I just had no idea that everything would come crashing down like this. I'm really sorry." 

"It's okay Fred," Wesley took her arm and helped her to the couch. "Just relax and sit for a minute. We don't have to talk about this right now if you don't want to." 

"No," Fred shook her head. "It's better we do this now. That way in case you run into any male Bastlians tonight you will know what to do." 

"Alright then," Angel held Connor close to him. "But can we keep this a G rated conversation, for Connor?" 

"You named him," Fred gave him a smile. And for a moment everything in the hotel went back to normal. But the moment would not last forever and Fred knew that. Things were hard enough as is without having Evelyn around. Now that she was here it was just going to add a whole new level of stress. Fred was not sure that her new friends would be able to handle it, but she hoped that they would try. If not then she might have to leave. 

**Feedback Replies**: Again thanks for the feedback. You guys are great. If you have feedbacked once and didn't the second time around for shame! I love feedback, tons of it. I want you to reply to every chapter! 

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**Inzane73**: I am glad you like it. There a ton of great fics out there too. So keep looking. I hope you really like this chapter. I wouldn't want to turn you away from Angel Fic. 

**nuttyginger**: Thanks so much! I was worried that no one would like, I guess that is silly though. Well I hope it gets better, and not worse. Tell me what you think! 

**Mrs O-Town**: I am working on it, I working on it. LOL! I am happy you liked the name change. I just thought it would be too confusing if I kept calling Connor something else while the show was calling him Connor. Anyway I hope you like this chapter. Let me know! 


	4. Conditional Tension

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.****

**Pairings:  **I promise it will be Wes/Fred and C/A, you are just going to have to wait a bit.****

**Distribution:  **As far as I know, Hello World: Fan Fiction Is Fun, WesleyFred mailing list, Angelfic mailing list, Fanfiction.net, Bookish, A Whole New World, and Majiks World of Fan Fic.  Anyone else, ask first, please!****

**Author's Note:  **A short chapter before the Christmas break.  Things are about to get really interesting for the whole group.  Don't feel to sorry for Gunn, he will be around more next time around.

This story is now up on my website which is updated more frequently and has the banner which I created for Yellow on it.  Please e-mail for the link if you don't see it.

Next chapter will be posted, I think sometime either before or after the New Year.  It depends on my muse.

**Thank yous: **To my wonderful Beta Readers, MeriBeth and Hannahs_mom.  You guys are greatest and you keep me in check!  If you don't like this chapter blame them, they said it was good enough to post.  Just kidding, it is my fault for writing it, but they did say that it was okay.****

**Yellow **– Chapter 4: Conditional Tension  
_by Annabelle_

Wesley woke up with the sun streaming through the window of his hotel room.  Technically it was not his room, but it was the one he always went to if he spent late nights at the Hyperion.  His thoughts went everything that had happened last night.

There were no calls and Cordelia had no visions, so she and Gunn left rather early.  Before they left, Giles had come back down from Fred's room with the news that Evie's body was fighting the virus more effectively than expected.  He was worried that she would be cured by the next day.  If that happened he was not sure that any of them would be able to stop her from seeking a mate.

Giles had explained to them that under normal circumstances when Evie changed to her demon form it just made her a better fighter; however when she was going though the Bastlian breeding season she could not be reasoned with, and could become dangerous to those around her.  He really was not sure how to contain her because he had never had to deal with her when she was breeding before.  Normally the Watchers Council were the ones that looked after her, but now that she was not in England there really was not much they could do and she was is no condition to go back.

So the night had been spent looking through books and on the computer trying to find a way to keep Evelyn from regaining full health until after the mating season was finished.  One week of insanity in which she had no control over her mind or body.  They found a list of a few herbs and magic spells that might hold her back until the end of the week, but they all hoped that it would not come to that.

Wesley rubbed his temples slowly.  It had been odd last night working with Giles.  Ever since they had met it always felt like they were working against each other.  He could tell that Giles was clearly worried about this girl whom he called his daughter.  Wesley had talked to him even though he had made it understood that he did not want to talk to anyone about it.  Giles had explained that he and Evie had spent months working on their relationship and now it was at a very pivotal point and he wanted to prove to her that he could be there for her.   Giles had pushed everyone to find what they could.  He pushed Wesley so hard to search through books at a speed that was not humanly possible that the younger English man finally snapped under the pressure.  He told Giles they would help him but they were not going to be his servants and clean up the mess he had made.

After that things had gone much more smoothly.  The rest of the night was quiet and uneventful.  They decided that Gunn would go with Giles in the morning and buy the list of herbs from the shops while Wesley and Fred looked after Evie and kept searching for other cures.  Angel and Cordelia would take any calls for Angel Investigations and of course take care of Connor.

Wesley was about to turn over and try to get another few minutes of sleep when he felt a warm sensation crawl over his skin.  For a moment his mind went totally blank and then thoughts of Fred started to come crashing into his head.  Images of her were racing through his mind at such a fast speed that he felt like he could not breathe.  Sitting straight up in bed Wesley worked to try to calm his breathing, but there was too much pressure on his chest.

He swung his feet over the side of the bed and started to head toward the window hoping that some fresh air would help.  Once he was standing his thoughts started to clear.  He had to see Fred; he had to get to her.  If he stayed away a moment longer it would kill him.  There was no time to get a shower or change.  He needed to see her, now.

"Winnie," Evie whispered to her sleeping friend.  "Winnie."  Fred did not move.  Sighing Evie got off the bed she had been allowed to sleep in.  She carefully stepped over Fred's sleeping form and headed to the bathroom.  "So cold," Evie gasped when her feet touched to tiled floor.  "A hot shower will make everything better."

She let the water heat up while she found towels and some clothes that her father had left with her.  Reaching out one hand she tested the water, "Scalding hot.  Perfect!"  Evie smiled and stepped into the shower.

Wesley slowly opened the door to Fred's room.  He heard the water running in the bathroom and turned to look at the person sleeping on the mattress on the floor.  There she was just lying there asleep looking absolutely breathtaking.  He had to touch her.

Crossing the room silently he kneeled down next her and reached out his hand to brush away a few strands of hair that had fallen across her face.  She sighed a little in her sleep but still did not wake up.  Wesley smiled and bent over to cover her lips with his.

Fred's eyes flew open.  She was looking right at Wesley and he was kissing her.  She sprang back from him.   "Wesley," she whispered harshly at him.  "What are you doing here?"

"Relax," Wesley whispered back.  "Evie is in the shower."

"Oh," Fred nodded slowly at him.  She could feel the heat coming off of his body.  Something was not right.  "Well in that case.  Evie!"

Wesley fell back, "What are you shouting about?"

"Winnie," Evie came running out the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.  "What's going on?"

"Evie!" Giles came rushing into the room.  Then he saw Wesley and Fred on the floor.  "Good god man, get a hold of yourself."

"Would someone mind telling me what is going on here," Evie was very upset.  "Fred calls me and I find she is making out with the younger version of you.  Then you come rushing in here like the world is ending and tell him to get a hold of himself.  And I still have shampoo in my hair.  I would like to finish my shower sometime today!"

"Evie," Giles looked at her.  "How are you feeling?"

"Like a truck ran over me; but otherwise okay," Evie shook her head.

Fred stood up and went to feel Evie's forehead, "She is warm.  But I don't understand.  How come I wasn't affected?  I mean, I was with her all night."

"You are a woman," Giles theorized.  "Her pheromones would not start affecting you until they reached a higher level."  Then he turned to Wesley who was starting to eye Fred again, "As for you.  Go take a cold shower and put on some clothes."  Then pointed to Evie, "You too.  Cold, not hot."

"You are so mean," Evie growled at him.  "It is not my fault he can't control himself.  You seem to be fine."

"I am older and your father.  Therefore you will take a cold shower and be quick about it," Giles scolded her.  "I want everyone downstairs in the lobby in ten minutes."  He turned around and left shutting the door behind him.  Giles walked a few paces and then took out the cloth that he kept in his pocket and dabbed his forehead.

Once they were all down stairs Evelyn started to pace the room.  She was starting to look somewhat like a caged.  Every now and then she would throw her arms up in the air and then glare at them.  Finally she got sick of them just staring at her, "So where is the resident vampire and his miracle son?  I thought he owned this place?"

"Angel is sleeping," Fred replied quietly.

"Well does he keep any real food in this place or just blood?" snarled Evie.

Fred felt bad for her friend.  She knew that it wasn't Evelyn's fault that she was being testy, it was just what happened to her during this time.  "Come with me to the kitchen we can find you something to eat."

"Is that alright with you father?" Evie hissed to Giles.

Giles was staring at Wesley and did not bother to look at he, "You two can go.  Wesley will stay here with me."

"Whatever," Evie rolled her eyes and then followed Fred to the kitchen.

"Are you thinking clearly now?" Giles asked Wesley.

"Yes," Wesley shook his head then looked at Giles.  "Listen Rupert, I am really sorry about what happened earlier."

Giles scoffed a little, "Yes, well why don't we try hard to forget that moment?  I am very concerned though."

"About Evelyn?"

Giles nodded.

"You said yourself though, the chances of her actually finding an mate here in LA are very slim," Wesley reminded him.

"The chances of her finding a Bastlian mate are slim," Giles agreed.  "But the chances of her going after someone who is not Bastlian are still high.  Evie only needs to find someone whom her demon self would consider to be a good mate and yield strong offspring."

"So are you saying," Wesley started make sense of Giles was suggesting.  " Are saying that she might mate with a human?"

"No," said Giles.  "She would never mate with a human.  Although she might use a human to umm, get worked up.  Evelyn has had her mind played with by the Council.  She will seek out a mate that is half demon or full.  Damn them!"  Giles pounded his fist into the counter that he was leaning on.  "If only they had used their stupid mind games to do something useful, like to train her not to seek a mate until she was old enough."

"Why didn't they?" Wesley wondered.  "I mean they thought having her around would be such a gift.  Why not make sure that their gift was safe?"

"In case they could not control her," Giles took off his glasses and started to rub his eyes.  "They wanted to make sure that they would have a way to get rid of her.  If Evelyn were to get pregnant then her baby would be carried at least until the third term before her body gave out.  If that were to happen then the Council would have another demon baby to try and control all over again."

"I never that the they could be so…" Wesley started to speak.  "No I take that back.  I did know and I can believe it."  Then he looked Giles in the eyes, "What are you going to do about it?"

"The best that I can," Giles put his glasses back on.  "When is your friend, Gunn getting in?"

"Soon, I could call him to check if you like," Wesley offered.

"No that is alright," Giles brushed off the question.  "Are you sure you are going to be able to handle her?"

"Well as long as she doesn't try to rip my lungs out again," Wesley grinned a little.

Giles grimaced.  Clearly there were some things that Wesley was still naïve about, "I meant Fred.  She is the one that has most direct contact with Evelyn.  If she starts to come under the influence of Evie's pheromones her reaction will be pretty intense."

"Oh well," Wesley started to become flustered.  "Maybe we should keep the cold water running."

"That might be a good idea," Giles managed to hold back his laughter.

"Hello people," Gunn announced cheerily as he and Cordelia walked into the hotel.

"Is someone using the kitchen?" Cordy sniffed the air.

Fred came into the lobby with two plates of what looked like a typical English breakfast.  "Oh Charles, Cordelia, you're here," Fred smiled at them.  "Evie was just making some breakfast for us.  Would you like some?"

The morning had started atypical from any other they had ever had.  Evelyn cooked them all a wonderful breakfast except for Angel who was still not to be seen.  Evie started to clean away the breakfast dishes with some help from Cordelia who was starting to warm up to the girl.

"Are you feeling better?" Cordelia asked her when they were inside the kitchen.

"Yes," Evie frowned.  "But it will be okay.  My father and your friend are going out soon.  They will get the things they need and then I will be right as rain.  Well wrong as rain, I guess."

Cordelia laughed, "You know Fred once told me that rain couldn't be right or wrong."

"That is something she would say," Evie paused for a moment.  "I think your vampire is up."

"Oh, you can really tell that he's up?" Cordy's interest had been peaked.

Evie nodded, "One of the little gifts I got.  That and I can tell when anyone part demon is around.  It is a scent thing."

"So do you have any other powers, I mean besides giving off large doses of pheromones?" asked Cordy.

"Well I have the same abilities as any Bastlian.  Well any cat really, part of the downfall of being modeled after the Cat Goddess," Evie shrugged.  "But other than that, I am just your average half demon."

"I smell food," Angel's voice sounded from behind them.  "Do you smell it too Connor?  Huh?  Do you?"  Angel baby talked to his son and held him close to his face.

"Don't do that," Cordy rushed over to Angel to try to take Connor.  "You are going to traumatize him."

Evie laughed at them, "Do you want me to heat up some of his formula?"

"No," Angel snapped at her.  Then Cordy gave him a sharp look.  "I mean, no thank you," his voice softened.  "I can do it myself."

"Alright then," Evelyn turned back to the sink, which she and Cordelia had placed all the dishes in.  "I will just finish cleaning up here."

Then there was a tense silence in the kitchen as Angel prepared the baby's formula and Evelyn washed the dishes.  When the formula was ready Cordelia offered to take it and Connor into the other room.  She gave Angel a look and mouthed the words talk to her before she left.

Angel sighed which caused Evie to jump.  "Sorry," he apologized.  "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't," Evie replied.  "Okay well you did.  I just didn't know that vamps sighed.  I mean I was told to stake them, not to talk to them."

"The Council trained you like a slayer," Angel was startled by this news.  "Giles never said anything like that.  He said they taught you to fight, but I thought he just meant fight off other Bastlians."

"Evie!" Giles called into the kitchen.

"Yes dad," Evie signaled for Angel to be quiet.

"I am going out now with Gunn.  We'll be back later," he did not come bother to go into his daughter because he knew that he and Gunn had to hurry.

Evie shouted back at him in a merry voice, "Good luck then.  See you later!"

Then she waited a few moments to see if he would say anything else.  He did not.  "He doesn't like to talk about that," Evie told Angel.  "The Council did a lot of things that he wishes he could have prevented.  He knew that I would be a fighter.  But once the Council lost both slayers they started to train me to do their job.

"It was their foolish hope that I would be like a replacement slayer.  But that never happened.  I am not that strong.  Besides, the whole going crazy once a year thing really puts me at a disadvantage."

Angel nodded.  Then before he said anything else he felt something.  Heat was coming from Evelyn.  Slowly her body temperature was starting to rise.  He moved to grab her wrist and she started to back away from him but she ended up backing into the sink.

"You are getting better," he hissed at her when his hand came in contact with her skin.  Then before he could say anything else he felt a sensation of warmth start to spread over him.  Slowly he took his other hand and pressed it against her face.  At first he thought he saw fear in her eyes but then he saw something else, something dark.

She reached out her hand and touched him.  "You know what you have to do," she said simply.  He nodded and let go of her and started to walk out of the kitchen.  A smile crossed Evie's face and her eyes started to twinkle.

_For banner and updates go here:_ http://members.fortunecity.com/annabellefic/

**Replies To Feedback:**  Got lot of new feedback and some from previous readers.  If you review once don't forget to keep reviewing.  More feedback means more chapters.

**Maeve Tyr Namid**: I am very happy that you liked that Giles was Evie's father.  Believe it or not it will make the story flow much more easily.  I mean how less were they going to find out things about her race?  I don't think the Watchers Council would have been all fruitful with information.  Anyway, I hope you keep reading!

**Nuttyginger**:  Yea!  You reviewed again!  Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.  I think you and I are thinking the same thing.  But I guess we will just have to wait and see.  Hope you like this chapter just as much as the others!

**Mrs O-Town**:  It is clearer for me to.  LOL!  Most of this stuff just comes as I write it.  I don't do too much pre-planning.  But I also am not that great at free writing so I guess this is something in between.  Thanks so much for reviewing.  It helps to motivate me to see that the same people are still reading the story and still enjoying it.

**Diane**: Woah!  Wow!  Umm, you are just going to have to wait and see.  Thanks so much for your praise.  I am so happy that you are having a positive reaction to Evie's dad being Giles.  I wasn't sure how people were going to look at that, but it really makes the story easier to right so...  Don't tell the others but between you and me, the reason I got this chapter out so fast was because of your feedback e-mail, well that and my Beta MeriBeth is about to kill me if I don't finish this soon.  LOL!  I hope you liked this chapter just as much.  And don't quit reading, I promise most of your questions will be answered in this story.

**Cathrine**: Thanks so much.  I am happy you like the story.  There will be more A/C next chapter, I promise.  I will e-mail you to.


	5. Preterit Forgotten

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.****

**Pairings: ** I promise it will be Wes/Fred and C/A, you are just going to have to wait a bit.****

**Distribution:  **As far as I know, Hello World: Fan Fiction Is Fun, WesleyFred mailing list, Angelfic mailing list, Fanfiction.net, Bookish, A Whole New World, and Majiks World of Fan Fic.  Anyone else, ask first, please!****

**Author's Note:  **Chapter 5 is a little longer than normal and is something I would not normally write.  I have rated this chapter PG-13 because well, you will find out.  FEEDBACK IS NEEDED!!!!

Want to know when the next chapter goes up?  I am thinking of starting a mailing list.  Let me know if you want to join through posted or e-mail feedback.****

**Thank yous: **To my wonderful Beta Readers, MeriBeth and Hannahs_mom.  You guys are greatest and you keep me in check!  If you don't like this chapter blame them, they said it was good enough to post.  Just kidding, it is my fault for writing it, but they did say that it was okay.****

**Yellow **– Chapter 5: Preterit Forgotten

_by Annabelle_

Angel walked slowly up the back staircase; not really paying any attention to what he was doing. He had to get to Cordy.  He had to see her, had to touch her, had to taste her.  He walked up the stairs with determination; not noticing that Evie had changed into her demon form and was following him.

Once he reached the floor his room was on, Angel started to walk faster.  The only thing standing between him and his goal was the door.  Turning the knob he threw open his door.

"Wow," Cordy rolled her eyes at him.  "Drama king much?"

Angel did not say anything to her.  He saw that she was holding Connor.  He went over and took the baby from her and placed in him in the crib.

"Angel," said Cordelia, sounding a little worried.  "Is there something wrong?"

Angel paused for a moment.  Then he turned around and looked her in the eyes.  "Yeah," he walked to her and took her hand.  Then he leaned closed to her ear and whispered in it, "You have too many clothes on."

Cordelia felt her cheeks go red but it only lasted for a moment.  She backed away from him and glared at him, "I see.  Well I guess Evie is feeling better.  I think it is time you go tell the others."

"You talk too much," Angel gave her a hard kiss to keep her quiet but Cordelia pulled away.

Now she was really mad.  She slapped him across his face with every ounce of force in her body.  "Wake up Angel!  Stop flirting with me and go tell the others."

Angel put his hand to his cheek.  It stung and was sore to the touch, "What did you do that for?"

"Don't play mister innocent with me," Cordelia grabbed his ear and started to drag him to the door.

"Ow, ow, ow," Angel struggled to keep up with her.  He had no idea what was going on.

"Get out of here and don't come back until you have cooled down," Cordelia pushed him out the door and slammed it behind him.  Once she had done that she slumped against the door and let her body slide to the floor.  A small tear rolled down her face.  She was not sure why she was so sad, but she guessed that it had to do with Angel.  Maybe somewhere deep down inside she had wished that it really had been him that kissed her and not Evie's pheromones.  Shaking her head she stood up tall.  This was not the time for thoughts like that.  She paced around the room for a few minutes trying to shake off the thoughts and feelings that were swirling through her head.

Angel stood there looking at the door that had just slammed into his face.  He was absolutely and completely confused by what just happened.  His cheek still hurt and he rubbed it a little.  Well Cordy did say to go downstairs and tell the others.  He looked at the door again and then turned away and headed for the lobby.

"Angel," Fred started to ask him.  "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine," Angel sounded a little frizzled.  "Cordy slapped me."

"What!" Fred and Wesley said at the same time.

Angel shrugged, "Yeah that's what I said.  I don't know why she slapped me?  She said that I was hitting on her.  Why would I hit on Cordy?"

Wesley and Fred looked at each other for a moment and they could tell they were thinking the same thing.  "Were you talking to Evie before you were talking to Cordelia?"

"I don't remember," Angel shook his head.  "The last thing I remember was Cordy taking Connor to give him his formula."

"Giles never said anything about memory loss," Wesley looked at Fred.  "He only said that…"

Fred nodded, "I don't know.  He did say that people went crazy.  But you remember what happened this morning."  The moment she said it she regretted it.

"What?" Angel looked at both of them.  They were blushing.  "What happened this morning?"

"Nothing," Wesley covered quickly.  "I mean nothing that you should worry about."  He looked at Fred for a moment but she was not looking at him.  Wesley sighed, "Do you remember anything before Cordy slapped you besides her taking Connor?"

"I, there was something," the words were at the tip of his tongue.  "I thought there was something but now…"

"I'm sure you will remember," Wesley smiled.  "Why don't you sit down for a moment, you look a bit flushed."

"Evie," Fred muttered under her breath.  "Hey, have either of you seen Evie lately?"  Both men shook their heads.  "Well I am going to find her.  I think you two should probably stay here."  Neither of them protested so Fred headed up the stairs.

"Evie," She called out knocking on doors and poking her head in.  There was no response.  She went up and down the hallway of the third floor.  Nothing.  Evelyn was not in any of the rooms.  Fred was about to head back down the main staircase to let the guys know that they all need to start looking for Evie when she heard a noise coming from one of the other staircases.

Fred approached the staircase slowly, "Evie?  Are you in there?"  She did not hear any other noises though.  "Evie, please come out."  Still there was no response.  Taking a deep breath Fred pushed the door to the staircase open.

When she walked through though she was instantly knocked over.  Fred found herself looking straight into a pair of yellow eyes which belonged to Evelyn's demon form.  The half Bastlian started to mutter something in a language that Fred did not understand, holding down Fred by her arms.  Then she let her claws out and they pierced into Fred's skin.  For a moment Fred panicked and did not know what to do.  Then her whole body started to itch and ache.  The eyes of her friend seemed to burn into her and caused her temperature to rise.  Just when Fred thought that she could no longer stand it, she blacked out.

"I am sorry Fred," Evelyn spoke in ancient Egyptian.  "It is for the best."  The demon smiled with her sharp teeth bared.  "Besides, you might even have a little fun."  Standing up quickly she jumped over the railing of the stairs and landed on a set of paw-like hands and feet.  She sniffed the air for a moment and then headed toward the lobby of the hotel.

"Did you hear something?" Angel asked Wesley looking around the lobby.

Wesley looked up from the book that he was reading, "No, but then you do have much better hearing than I do."

"I swear I heard something fall," Angel got up and started to walk toward the door of the atrium.  "Or thump.  But I couldn't pin-point where it came from."

"Do you think someone's after Connor?" Wesley put his book down.  He moved to the weapons cabinet but before he could pull anything out something dashed in front of him and nearly knocked him over.  "Angel, it's inside!"

Angel whipped his head around him expecting to see some demon bounty hunter but instead he saw something that almost looked like a large panther but with silver stripes and slightly human features.  "Wait, Wesley.  Isn't that?"

"Evie," Wesley whispered.

The Bastlian let out a loud growl at the two men.  Then she stood straight up on her hind paws.  She moved toward them slowly her tail swaying behind her.  Knowing that neither one of them would be able to move she came so close to Wesley that she could feel his breath on her fur.  A smile started to cross her feline features and then she extended her claws.

In a quick move she scratched Wesley across his left arm and then pushed him aside with her tail as she lunged at Angel.  Angel just stood there and watched her injure his friend. He tried desperately to move but found nothing could make him.

Evelyn extended her hand and stroked Angel's cheek.  He nuzzled his face into her hand, not noticing that Wesley lay on the ground motionless.  Then, in the next moment, he felt a razor sharp set of claws dig into his skin.  Evelyn used her tail and pushed him to the ground in the same manner she had done with Wesley.  As Angel felt blood begin to trickle down his cheek, he heard Evie begin to speak in an odd tongue.  

"You are under my spell vampire," Evelyn spoke in her dead language.  "It is much easier for me to manipulate males.  I can have you do my bidding before I even invoke Bast.  But I choose neither of you."  Angel simply stared at her not understanding a word of what she was saying.  "The women that live here will only get in my way and will not allow me to answer the call of my maker.  So I will trust you and the man to keep them busy while I go out to find my mate.  Now you will do this task and the women will comply because they too will taste the power of the great goddess Bast."  

Angel wanted to get up but he found he could not move.  In the next moment a wave of heat took his body.  That was when he realized that this was not the first time that this heat had come over him; only now it was stronger.  His whole body felt like it was going to burn from the inside out and his skin crawled.  A powerful yearning washed over him and pained him so much that his head started to spin.  He saw two things before his blacked out.  The first was Evelyn grabbing him under his arms and dragging him somewhere.  The second was Cordelia's face.

Fred started to stir.  Her head felt all fuzzy, but she managed to sit up right.  Trying hard to remember what happened to her she found that she could not.  Standing up right Fred felt something stir inside her.  A heat had taken over her body and was making very hard for her to focus on anything but Wesley.  She could see him in her mind's eye and it made her long to be near him and to touch him.  Just as she was about to head off looking for him she swore she could smell him nearby.

The scent of his body filled her nostrils and she followed it.  Following his aroma, Fred headed down the stairs of the hotel down to the ground floor.  He was there, she was sure of it.  When she rounded the corner she was proven right.

Wesley was lying on the floor with his eyes closed.  A wicked smile came over Fred's face and she crossed the room to stand above him.  She waited for a moment but started to pout when he did not even try to open his eyes.  Deciding that he was not going to get up of his own accord, Fred came up with a clever way to get him to come to consciousness.

Straddling his waist she lowered her body on him and started to trace his jaw line with her finger all the way up to his lips.  Her smile deepened when she noticed that he was starting to come around.  She started to trail small kisses on his chest that was slightly exposed by his shirt.  She went up his neck again and then started to nibble gently on his ear, and that was what finally caused him to come to life.

"Fred," Wesley breathed her name hoarsely.

"Shh," she pressed a finger against his lips.  Then she replaced her finger with her lips and started to kiss him softly.

For some reason Wesley was not in shock by her actions and returned her kiss.  He used his tongue to part her lips and started to explore her sweet mouth; Fred let out a small moan from deep in her throat.

Fred felt as though she couldn't get close enough to Wesley.  The clothes that they were wearing were getting in the way and it annoyed her to no end.  She began to unbutton his shirt and ran her hands along his chest underneath it.  In response Wesley wrapped his arms around her and then pulled both of them into something that resembled a sitting position.  They did not break lip contact, for fear of suffocating if they did.

Wesley was starting to feel the same need that Fred did to get rid of their clothes but something dawned on him.  Angel and Cordelia were still in the hotel and Giles and Gunn would be returning soon.  He did not want to be interrupted again.  Slowly he started to stand up, pulling Fred with him and still kissing her, allowing his hands to roam her body.  As they rose he became entranced with a small soft spot at collarbone and when he kissed it Fred let out a squeal of delight.

"What are we doing?" Fred asked him between pants as he attacked her neck.

"Moving," Wesley moved his assault back to her lips, enjoying the little moans that she made as he did so.  He picked her up and she started to giggle a little against his lips.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

"Hurry up then," she whispered in his ear.  "The door does lock doesn't it?"  She started to nibble on his ear again.

Wesley let out a low growl into her neck and carried her in a hurried walk to the office.  Opening the door quickly he let her slide down him as he closed and locked it.  The next second chaos broke in the office and clothes went flying in every which direction.

From her perch on the staircase Evie watched the shadows of the two humans for a moment then remembered that she had yet to turn Cordelia.  Angel would wake soon and find her and if that happened before Cordy was entranced it would mean that she would have to start everything from square one again.  She checked the door of the room that she had dragged Angel up to and made sure it was locked.  Then she raced up the stairs to where she knew Cordelia was.

Cordelia had been almost totally ignorant to happenings on the floors below her.  She knew that Evie had recovered for the most part.  Sighing, she half smiled.  For a moment she had thought that Angelus had come back but she now knew that everything was safe.  That was when she heard the door handle jiggle.

Picking up a weapon that lay nearby, Cordy stood in front of the door ready for whatever was on the other side.  She watched as the knob started to turn and felt her body tense up.  Nothing though could have prepared her for what came bursting through the door.

One moment she was on her feet then the next she was on the ground.  Looking up she saw a cat like creature, which she knew from her visions, was Evie.  The half Bastlian hissed a little at her and then dragged a single claw across her skin cutting her shirt.

"Hey," Cordy struggled against the demon.  "We are supposed to be on the same side."

Evelyn started to recite her invocation of the goddess Bast and watched as Cordelia's body reacted in the same manner as the others.  Once the girl had stopped twitching, Evie stood up.  She looked down at the now unconscious Cordelia and let out a small chuckle.  Now the only two she had left to deal with were her father and the strange man.  They would pose no problem and would be the key to letting her out of this place.  After all she could not leave unless she was allowed to.  Part of the rules of the game.  A game that had been lost to people for generations, but Bastlians knew on instinct how to play it and how to trick others into allowing them to do so.

Cordy shook her head at first when she woke up.  Then she opened her eyes and looked into the darkened pair that belonged to Angel.  Her first instinct was to close the distance between them.  She stood and moved to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face closer to hers.  She paused for a moment when he pulled back.  Then he grasped her waist and pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his.

The world around them seemed to fade away; the only thing that mattered was them.  They kissed each other with a burning fever and passion.  They were dizzy from wanting each other so badly.  They moved as one toward the bed, clothes slowly falling to the floor.  Then something shook the world that they had moved into.  A small cry coming from outside the bubble that they created around them pierced their ears.

Connor was crying because something was trying to take him away.  Something had told him that he needed be very quiet because his dad was busy and he was going to be put somewhere so that his dad could have some private time.  But the something was a stranger.  The keen sense of smell that babies had, because their vision was not clear in the first few months in life, told him so.  This something was doing bad things.  So Connor cried.

Angel and Cordelia looked to the baby just in time to see the large cat demon race away from the cradle and out of the room.  At first they did not know what was going on.  They had no idea what they had been doing or what the creature was.  Then it hit them both at the same time.

"Evie," Angel whispered.  "She was trying to get Connor out of the room so he wouldn't…" Angel looked at Cordelia and together the realized the second thing that Evelyn had tried to do.  Blushing he averted his gaze quickly.  "Clothes, then we go after her."  He heard Cordelia agree and they started to dress.

Evelyn raced downstairs to the lobby of the hotel room.  Jumping sometimes from floor to floor in order to move faster.  Once she was safely downstairs, she listened.  Angel and Cordelia had not followed her yet.  She still had time.  Wesley and Fred were still very much involved with each other and nothing was going to stop them.  Then the familiar scent of her father hit her.  He was just on the other side of the door.  She fled to hide so that she would not be in direct sight of the people standing at the door.

"We're back," Gunn called out as he stepped into the lobby.  Then he saw a flash of fur flying toward him.

Evie pounced on him and knocked him to the ground.  She knocked Giles over the head with her tail as she and Gunn fell to floor.  Once she sensed that her father was out cold she sniffed Gunn.  He was staring at her unmoving.

"You could be of some use to me," Evie was still speaking in Egyptian.  "My mate will be able to find me more easily if I am excited."  She smiled down at him and started to lick and nibble his lips.  Hearing Gunn let out a moan she laughed.  "You will find that I am very good at this."

Gunn's breathing started to become uneven.  Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew what he was doing was wrong but he could not stop himself.  He let her torture him and started to allow himself to relax.  His hands started to move across her body without him even willing them too.  He found the little purrs and growls that came from her excited him even more and made him lose total control over his thoughts.

Then he heard someone calling to him from the staircase.  Evie let out a roar and leaped off him and out the door.  Gunn wanted to follow her.  His body was now begging for her.  He almost started after her when he tripped over Giles who was starting to wake up.

"Gunn, Giles!" Cordy ran to help them.  "Are you guys alright?"

"Fine," Giles muttered.  "Bloody fine."

"I…" Gunn started to speak.  "I dunno."

"Yeah," Cordelia sympathized with him.  "Evie put her pheromone mojo on Angel and me too."

"It was…" Angel tried to form words but they would not come.  Instead he shifted the weight of his son in his arms.

"Well, we'd better go after her," Giles said.  "I don't want her to get too far.  She will act on instinct and go to the safest place that she can find."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked him.

"The Council," Giles sighed.  "They trained her to seek out a safe place to mate.  Somewhere that will offer a lot of protection and privacy.  She will be able to locate any place like that just by her senses.  Then she can start calling for her mate."

"Umm," Gunn looked at Angel and Cordelia then back Giles.  "She wouldn't be able to say sense a Sanctuary Spell, would she?"

"Yes," Giles rubbed his head.  "And that is exactly the place that she would be head for.  Why?"

"Cause we know where she'd be going," Gunn grimaced.

"Well where?" asked an impatient Giles.

Angel gave the group a worried look, "Caritas.  She would probably head straight for it.  It is the only place around here that has that kind of spell."

"Let's get going then," Giles picked up the bag of magical items he had dropped when Evie knocked him over.

"Lorne is going to love this," Cordelia rolled his eyes.  "Let's just hope we don't blow up his club again."

"What?!" exclaimed Giles in a panicked voice.

"We have had a few run-ins with not so nice people there before," Angel explained.  "It is a long story.  We'd better get going."

They were just about to head out the door when Angel realized two things.  One he was still holding his son.  The other was that Wesley and Fred were not with them.  "We need to find Fred and Wes," Angel told the others and they all froze in their tracks.

"Oh dear," mumbled Giles.

"They are probably," Gunn started speak but stopped.  "Well I am not going to find them.  Giles you go.  You got that magic stuff that will counter act the pheromones."

"I'd rather not," Giles shook his head.  "I've already walked in on them once."

"Don't look at me," Angel protested.  "I have Connor."

Cordelia shook her head.  "You men are such babies.  Give me the magic goo and I will throw it at them."

Giles handed her a small bottle of liquid.  "You don't really need to through it at them.  Just have it break some where near them so that they will be exposed to the fumes."

Taking the bottle in hand Cordelia looked at Angel, "Where are they?"

"The office," Angel's eyes motioned toward it for a second and then he looked away.

Cordelia glared at him then marched over to the door.  Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes she tried to turn the knob.  "It's locked!" she called out to the others.

"Then uncork the bottle and roll it under the door," Giles instructed her.

Cordelia did as she was told.  On the other side of the door she could hear soft moaning and an image started to come to her head but she quickly banished it.  All of sudden the moaning stopped.  Walking quickly to where the others were standing she waited to see what would happen next.

Out of the office came a rather flushed but full clothed Wesley and Fred.  They seemed a little confused but happy then they saw the crowd at the door and frowned.  Fred let out a little gasp and started to blush.

"Hello," Wesley managed to say in an even tone.

"Come on Wesley," Giles did not have time for them to be embarrassed.  "Evie is out and about and looking for a mate.  We have to go find her."

"I'm going to then," Fred spoke with assertion.

"But Fred," Angel started.

"No," said Fred.  "I have to be there for her.  Someone else can stay with Connor or you can take him to Lorne, but I have to try to help."

"Well we are just going to Caritas," Cordelia tried to offer some comfort to Angel.  "He will be safe there."

"Decide now," Giles was starting to panic again.  "We have to hurry."

"Alright we will take him," Angel gave him.  He knew that if it were Connor out there he would be just as worried as Giles.  They safely packed Connor into his car seat and rushed to Caritas; hoping that they could get there before Evie had a chance to find a mate.

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**Replies To Feedback**: MORE!  FEED ME!  Just kidding.  Thank you all so much you have been very supportive and lovely as I struggle through this first Angel fan fiction.  

I am thinking of starting a mailing list so that people will know when this story is updated and the others that may follow it.  Yes I have a prequel and sequel running around in my head.  Just in case you were wondering.

**Nuttyginger**:  I am very happy that this cheered you up.  I hope you like this chapter just as much.  I tired to put in some funny parts but the thing about my humor I don't really notice it until after I write it.  Thanks so much for the feedback.  I love it when I hear from people more than once.

**Diane: **I hope that this chapter put your mind at ease.  Evie is not going after Angel because well with the expectation of Connor Angel cannot produce offspring.  As for anything else well just wait and seen.  I actually haven't started the next chapter yet.  Been bogged down with the prequel to this story which only focuses on Evie and Giles, it is my version of what could happen in the British series Ripper, because I think that is very unfair that we don't get to see it here in the states if it is produced.  Constant feedback is always inspiring though and I thank you for your praise and interest. 

**Cathrine**: Thank you.  I think my head is starting to get big from all the wonderful feedback that everyone gives.  I made a record number of mistakes this chapter, oh well.  I hope you liked this chapter as much as you like the rest of the story.  I will e-mail when I put up the next chapter.  I am thinking of starting a mailing list to let people know when I update this story.  What do you think? 

**Priya**: I swear I am hearing you.  I promise.  This is about A/C as I will get until the end of the story which is soon, but if makes you feel any better that won't be that much more Fred/Wes until the end either.  Plus there will be a sequel with more A/C I promise.  Just wait for me, I promise I will deliver.

**Aziraphael**: Giles is very much like dad to everyone though, isn't he?  LOL!  I was having way to much in Spanish class when I dreamed this story up.  What can I say?  As for Wesley well he got what he deserved this chapter didn't he? 

**Lily**: I didn't torture Angel so much now, did I?  I don't think so.  Well it was fun writing it and I happy that you  are having fun reading it.  I hope to hear more about what you think of how the story is going.  Let me know! 

**Maeve Tyr Namid**:  I love to hear from people over and over.  It makes me so happy.  Anyway, I hope this chapter lives up to the others.  I try, sometimes it doesn't always work, but I do try.  I hope to hear more of what you think soon.


	6. Present Participle

**Disclaimer:  **I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.****

**Author's Note:**  Thank you so much to Encarta from MSN, they let me know that it can be spelled **Bast** or **Bastet**.  It is hard to tell because Egyptian is such a dead language.  Actually I knew that but it Bastlian looks better than Bastetlian.  But please note even though this is just for fun I do try to do my research.  **Join the update list**!  Chapter 7 is already done and just has to be edited, we are coming to the close of this story.

**Thank Yous:**  To my beta MeriBeth who told me that I was doing the right thing and that it really could be spelt Bast or Bastet.  To my substitute beta ShuisFanatic for stepping in for Hanna's Mom, since HM was doing the holiday thing.

**Update Notification:**  There has been a list created to let people know about updates, if you have not received e-mail about it here is the link to get on it.  Or you can just give a shout out in feedback form and I can sign you up directly to the list. **To Subscribe:** angelfic_update-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Also you can sign up at my web page: http://members.fortunecity.com/annabellefic/

**Prequel and Sequel News:  **If you haven't joined the e-mail list you will want to.  The Prequel, titled **English Demons **will be coming out and it deals with Giles and Evie's relationship and gives more hints to the connection between Evie and Fred.  Also the Sequel is in the works.  It will be called **That Christmas Thing**.  It is a direct sequel to this story.

**Yellow** – Chapter 6: Present Participle  
_by Annabelle_

Her feet did not hurt but her body ached.  The need to release the tension increased when she came upon what she had been seeking.  She stood in front of a building for a moment then slowly walked down the stairs and tried push the door open.  It was locked and the rules of course prevented her from just walking in, so she pounded on the door loudly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she heard a male voice call from the other side and her sense registered that he was a demon. 

He opened the door and took one look at the demon girl standing in front of him and knew that she was trouble.  "We don't open till next week," he said.

"I need help," she told him pleadingly.  "Please.  This is a sanctuary I can feel it.  Let me in."

"Why?  You are trouble," his words were a little ragged and he could feel sweat start to form on his body.

Evie reached her hand up to touch his check, "Not trouble.  I promise.  Let me in."

"What are you," he found that he could not move to stop her.  His will was starting to become hers.

"I don't recognize your kind," she was starting to get desperate now.  The burning inside was hurting her to no end.  She had to choose a mate.  "Powerful though.  What is your name?"

"Lorne… Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan," said Lorne then he shook his head.  "I mean, Lorne the host of Caritas."

"Lorne," Evie started to run her hands through what she thought was his hair.  "I am Evelyn a Bastlian, I want to come inside now."

"Okay," Lorne stepped aside and let her in.

Evie smiled at him and sauntered in with her tail swaying behind her.  Once inside she glanced over the room she was standing in.  She walked over to the bar and ran her finger over the counter.  Sitting down on a bar stool she turned her eyes back on Lorne.  "What are your powers," she demanded of him.

"I can read people's auras," he said.

"Where do you come from?"

"Plyea, an alternate dimension."

"Alternate dimension," Evie stood from the stool.  She crossed to where he was standing and started to run her hands along his chest under the rob he was wearing.  She took in his scent once again.  "You would yield strong offspring."

"What are you doing to me," Lorne tried to push her hands away but she stopped him.

Evie growled at him.  "What is this magic?  How can you still put up a fight?"  Her eyes became angry but then she laughed.  "It is no matter.  It only means that my offspring will be strong."  She let out her claws and quickly ran them over his bath rob cutting slightly into his chest.

"Stop," he looked right into her eyes.  Something was there that he did not understand.  She was powerful and she doing something to him.  He barely had strength to fight it but now he found that his was losing his battle.  "I don't want to-"

Evie hissed at him and pushed him against the wall.  She started to recite the words of Bast and in a moment she felt his body start to relax.  "How do you feel now?"

Lorne did not answer her.  Instead he flipped their bodies so that she was the one pressed into the wall.  Then he kissed her.  He could feel her giggle against his mouth.  She used her tail to pull him closer to her almost crushing them together.  Their minds started to become one and it became impossible to tell where one of them started and the other finished.  They made their way to Lorne's bedroom leaving the club looking like someone had ransacked it.

Gavin watched the demon pace back and forth.  The creature was tall and well built.  He could have easily left of his own accord but the demon cat stayed there.  His tail was held in a rigid position behind him.  Then he let out a furious roar.

"She has chosen a mate!" the male Bastlian yelled at Gavin and Lilah.  "It is too late now."

"No," Lilah tried to rush to him but he glared at him.  "It is not to late."

"I will go find her now," he told them.  "She is at the sanctuary.  Meet me there.  I should be able to stop her before she starts to mate with him.  If I can do that then she will be mine."

"But why don't you just stay here," Lilah reasoned with the beast.  "We have others here who would be willing to be your mate."

The creature let out a deep laughter that matched his voice.  Handsome was not a word that could fully describe this cross between cat and man.  The fur that covered him was a sandy color, which looked like a loin's coat, but his eyes were a light blue.  "I do not mate with non-Bastlians human female," he brushed past her and opened the door of the boardroom.  "It is even below someone of my status to mate with the halfling, but she is the only Bastlian around for miles and I will not let my race to be inflected any further with foreign blood."

"Wait," Lilah tried to stop him again but the Bastlian had already left and was making his way to Caritas.  "You don't have to…"

Gavin laughed at her.  This was truly the best assignment that he had ever been given.  He was thoroughly enjoying seeing her get all flustered over this demon that she did not even have a chance with.  He on the other hand had enough sense to take the anti-pheromone agent that the company had recommended before meeting with their new comrade.

The Bastlian male was a recent hire as an assassin.  The fact that he would be causing a certain death to a friend of Angel's was just a bonus, even if the death was delayed.  Besides then afterward they would have a brand new Bastlian to work from them.  They will finally get a message sent to Angel and they would no longer have to wait to take the child.

"Really Lilah," Gavin sneered at her.  "Did you honestly think that you had a chance with him?  He is the first born and only son from one of the oldest Bastlian families."

"Shut up!" Lilah hissed at him.  Her head was starting to spin and her mind was becoming clearer.

"You know there is something I don't understand.  He could be a very powerful member of his race, take charge and what not.  Yet here he is working for us and almost having to mate with someone who is beneath him," mocked Gavin.

Lilah ignored his remark about her, "Bastlians have always been loyal to Bast, the senior partners said so.  But when Bast left they had no one to tell them what to do.  Some of them turned to the so-called powers that be.   Those that didn't died mostly.  Killed by their own sometimes."

"But this girl, well half girl," Gavin started.

"Works for the powers," Lilah finished for him.  "Yes, which is why our friend is not to happy about having her as a mate."

"Well given the alterative," Gavin eyed her.  "I don't see as he had much of a choice."

"Go to hell," Lilah pushed past him and walked out the door.

Giles started to fidget in the back of Angel's car.  They had managed to cram into the car somehow, although he was not really sure he wanted to know how.  "Ouch," Giles yelped as the baby-seat that was placed next to him crushed into his side.

"Sorry," Fred shifted her weight a little as she sat on Wesley's lap.

"It's okay Fred," Giles reassured her.  "I know that it is a bit cramped."  He looked out the window and thought, 'at least I hope that's the reason why I was just assaulted by a car seat those herbs only work on Bastlians and do I really want to be thinking about this too carefully?'  Giles shook his head to push away the thoughts that were starting to cloud his mind and focus on the more important things that were going on.  "Are we nearly there?," Giles leaned foreword and asked Angel who was sitting with Cordy and Gunn in the front.

Cordy nodded her head but did not dare looking to the backseat.  "Just a few more minutes," she said.

They slowly pulled into a side street next to the club and everyone started to get out of the car.  Everyone but Fred and Wesley.  Fred had started to open the door to the car but something was pulling at her and preventing her from getting up.  She tried to again but instead she fell back into Wesley's lap.

"Your shirt is caught," Wesley whispered in her ear.

Fred gave him a fearful look.  "Oh no," she gasped.  Again she tried to pull away from him and this time she nearly tumbled out of the car and landed on the ground but he grabbed her arm and she was able to steady herself.

"Fred are you okay," Angel gave her a look of concern.

Fred nodded, "Fine.  Everything's fine.  Nothing's the matter.  Just have to get Connor out of his car seat."

Angel would have believed her except he noticed that part of her shirt was torn.  Then when Wesley handed him his son he say that the missing part of Fred's shirt was caught on his button.  He took Connor and gave Wesley a glare.

Wesley pretended ignore him and put his hand on the small of Fred's back.  "Shall we get going then?"

They moved to Caritas but as the came to the stairs they heard a two toned roar.  The next minute a large cat demon with sandy colored fur seemed to be running up the stairs backward but it also looked like some one had tried to thrown him in the direction of the alley.  There was blood coming from his arm.

"What the hell is going on," Cordy fell back a little but Angel helped her balance herself.  "What happened to him?"

"Evie," Giles and Fred said at the same time.

"She must be with Lorne," Fred gave Giles a worried looked.

"She wouldn't," Angel frowned a little at the Watcher.  "Would she?"

"Lorne is a demon, isn't he?" Giles looked at the angry male Bastlian and tried not to picture what his daughter did make him so mad.

"Yes but-" Cordy started with a slightly disgusted look.

"She will not mate with him!" a deep voice roared over all of them.  The large cat was panting and looking at the stairs as if he was waiting for someone to come up them.  "I will not allow it!"

"Haven't you heard that no means no!" Wesley almost fell over when Fred grabbed a hold him and pulled him to her.  He could feel the fear coming from her body in waves.

"What happened to freedom of choice man," Gunn glared at the beast.

"There is no choice for her," the beast stood in the center of the club.  "She will become mine.  Bastlians will mate with Bastlians!"

"Well that is closed-minded isn't," Cordy snorted.

Giles shook his head at the male Bastlian.  "She will mate with no one.  Having a child will kill her.  You must realize that!"

"The weak shall perish and the strong will rise," the male stood to his full height, which towered over them.  "This is the way of our people."  He turned to toward the stairwell, which lead to the club.  "Come to me little one," he howled.

"Evie no!" Giles screamed and started to rush toward the beast but Angel held him back.

Up the stairs came Evie with Lorne following close behind her.  She stood in a way so that her body was protecting his.  Evie gave the Bastlian male a nasty look.  "I smell evil on you," Evie hissed at him in ancient Egyptian.

"Evil or not you will mate me," he held his hand out to her speaking in the same language.

Evie did not move to him though.  She stood her ground, "I have chosen a mate.  You are too late."

"You have not mated," he yelled at her furiously still in the dead language.  "The rules of our people allow me to fight for you if I must.  Do you not see that this foreign blood will be poison to your child?  If you mate with me our offspring will be strong.  In the name of Bast and our race make your choice me.  It will be the best thing."

"Okay will someone please tell me what they are saying," Cordy shouted.  Neither Bastlian turned to explain to her though.

"I will mate with him if I chose to," Evie's eyes were glowing bright yellow.  "His sires will be strong, if not stronger than yours.  The old ways are all but dead.  The choice is mine."

"I will kill him!" he yelled back at her.  "You know we will fight and he will lose."

"What is going on," Cordy whispered to Fred.

Fred was shaking like a leaf holding on to Wesley for dear life.  He had his arms wrapped around her tightly.  It gave her enough courage to shake her head and let Cordy know that she no idea what either of the Bastlians were saying.

Cordy did not give up though.  She turned to Giles and asked him the same question.

"He is threatening to kill Lorne if she does not mate with him," Giles summed up for Cordy.  "Well that is what I can make out."

"This does not sound very good for me," Lorne had moved away from Evie and was now standing with the others.  He was dressed in a different bathrobe then before and was shaking a bit.

Giles looked fiercely at him, "Well if you didn't try to have sex with my daughter you would not be in this position."

"Hey she came to me," Lorne held his hands up in defense.  Giles was about to attack him but a look from Angel had Gunn stopping him.

"Giles calm down.  We have to find a way to help Evie so she does not mate with either of them," Angel moved stand between the father and the demon.

"Right then," Giles nodded.  "Gunn use the lighter in the bag and start to burn the herbs."

"I will take that," Gavin snatched the bag from Gunn's hand and give them an evil grin.  "No one will be helping her.  She will take a mate."

"Sorry to break up this little party," Lilah had a few other men standing behind her.  "But you see we have to protect our clients."

Angel looked at her with hatred, "I should have known that you were a part this.  Giles do the spell."  Then he quickly handed Connor to Fred.

Evie was hissing at the male in the background.  It was clear that he was trying to make his move to claim her but she was avoiding him.  She ran he claws over his abdomen and gave him a large cut that spilled out blood.  He howled at her and swung his claws at her head but she jumped out of the way in time.

At the same time Giles, Lorne, and Fred with Connor were huddled behind a over turned trashcan that the male Bastlian had tried to launch at Evie.  Angel, Gunn, Wesley, and Cordelia were fighting off the goons from Wolfram and Hart.  But in the middle of all the chaos Evie had stopped fight the male.  She circled around him panting a little weaker then before.  It almost looked as if she trying to decide what to do with him.

"Amitto tuus oculi appareo," Evie heard her father's voice ring in her head.  She fell to the ground for a moment when her head started to spin.  Then she looked around her and saw her new acquaintances fighting mean looking men.  At first she did not understand.  Then memories started to hit her and she felt like she was going to vomit.  Visions of some of the things she had done to these people that she barely knew flew in her mind.  Yet here they were fighting to help her.  She had to do something.

"Look we'll finish this in a minute," Evie spoke in English and stood to look at the male beast.  Then she patted him on his chest.  "I've got something I have to take care of first."  Then in a flash she stuck her paw deep into the wound she had given to his stomach.  She let her claws out and twisted them around inside his skin.  He snarled at her and fell back to the ground.  She used her tail to hit is head and watched him black out.  The loss of blood had gotten to him.

"Duck," she called to Angel and his friends.  Once they moved Evie used her tail and whipped it at the Wolfram and Hart men.  Then she used her hindquarters claws to scratch them as she kicked at their backs.

Angel and the others took the men up of the ground and kicked them around some more.  The men started to retreat not listening to the shouts of Lilah and Gavin to hold their ground.  Evie turned on Gavin but he started to run as soon as he saw her teeth and claws barred.  Lilah looked as if she wanted to face Evie but thought better of it when she saw Angel looming behind the female demon.  She turned to follow the rest of her team

"How do you feel," Angel asked Evie while he watched Wolfram and Hart in retreat.

"Like someone hit me with a load of bricks and then dunked me in cold ice water," She looked at one of the wounds on her arm.  "Not to mention that I had to fight off a full male Bastlian."

"Is he gonna wake up," Fred asked timidly clutching Connor to her.

Evie nodded, "Soon now doubt."

"Anyone have something sharp and big," Angel looked around at everyone

"Axe," Giles tossed the weapon to Angel.

"You were going to take off my head?" Evie yelped at her father.

"Of course not, I just-" Giles started.

Cordy backed away, "He is awake."

The watched as the male Bastlian stood on his feet and let out a horrible of roar.  "I will kill you all!"  He spoke in Egyptian.

"What did he say?" Angel asked Evie.

Evie shrugged, "I have no idea!"

"You were speaking it earlier," Wesley took a fighting stance.

"Clarity spells work funny sometimes," Evie waited another half second and then started to charge him with Gunn and Wesley close behind.  They kicked at him and made his wounds bleed more.  Then Evie managed to get behind him and slice his back open.  "Well cut of his head!" she shouted to Angel.

Angel moved to swing the axe but Bastlian man tripped him and then kicked out his hind paw to knock Evie to the ground.  "That hurt," moaned Angel.

Wesley tried to get in a few punches and Gunn helped but the cat demon just swung his big arms and tossed them across the room.  They lay in a heap a few feet away from Fred and Giles.  She handed the baby to Lorne and ran to Wesley.  "Wesley," she gasped as she fell to the ground near him.

"You monster," Evie cried punching and kicking the male.  "Your fight is not with them.  You are breaking the rules!"  He fought back with equal strength.  Wounding her ribs and back but she kept going.

Angel watched Evie pound the male who was two heads taller than her.  He heard Giles calling to him to help her.  Angel raised the axe in his hands.  Then when the male demon fell to the pavement he brought the axe down and the cat's head rolled to the ground.

Evie fell on her knees and let out a howl.  The adrenaline started to leave her and the pain started to set in.  She could feel the blood run down her fur.

"Evie," Giles rushed to her to help her to her feet.  "How do you feel?"

"Like every vein in my body is letting out blood," Evie winced in pain a bit unsteady on her feet.

Around them everyone started to recover.  Cordy went help Angel up and wiped away the blood that had splattered on his face.  "Are you okay?" she asked even though she knew he wasn't.

"I could be better," he pushed a strand of her back behind her ear.

Lorne came foreword, holding Connor, "Don't tell me.  I don't want to know."  He gave them a strange smile and then handed the baby to Angel.

Wesley and Fred joined the others and Gunn followed them.  Evie smiled at her friend and held out her hand.  Fred took it and gave it a squeeze.

"Evie what did you mean when you said that he was breaking the rules," Angel asked her but he stayed close to Cordy and it looked to Evie that he had his hand wrapped around her back, no one else seemed to notice.

"I don't know," Evie slumped against her father and she felt someone else come to her right side to help her.  It was Gunn.  She gave him a half smile and a worried look.  "I really only remember bits and pieces of everything.  I do remember some nonsense about rules of the game.  I was hoping that involving humans was against the rules."

Everyone was silent.  Evelyn looked at all of them.  She saw how changed they were from when she first met them.  She thought that they were all spoiled and too soft to fight, like the Watchers that she lived with.  Now though she could see that they were made from strength that she did know it was possible for humans to have.  They also looked at her in a different way but she was not really sure if she was just hoping for that.

Then her eyes fell on Lorne.  She remembered the mess from downstairs.  Chairs and tables smashed.  Broken bits of furniture laying around everywhere.  And that was before that male demon came and started tearing up the place.

"Umm," Lorne said when he noticed her looking at him.

She winced a little because more of what she had done came back to her.  "The Council will take care of your club," she looked away from him and at her father.

"Yes," he agreed.  "I'll give you an address to send the bill."

"Well now that everything is taken care of," Angel spoke up and Connor started to whimper.  "I really do think that was enough excitement for tonight.  How about we all head home?"

"And get you into a bath," Giles bushed some of the blood off of Evie's fur.  "Cold bath, with ice cubes."

Evie grunted at him.  She hated the cold.  Then she looked at Lorne and realized in horror that he was wearing a bathrobe.  "Lots of ice cubes," she pleaded with her father and tried to pull away from Gunn but her vision was starting to cloud.  Evelyn did not see the look of dismay from Lorne.  Nor did she hear Angel tell him that she meant nothing by her comment.   She did feel her body being moved somewhere.  Then she noticed that cold water was surrounding her and soaking her fur.  She opened one eye and saw her father pacing a washcloth on her forehead.  That was when she blacked out and all that was left to do was wait for her to wake up again.

**Replies To Feedback:** Hello, My name is Annabelle and I am addicted to feedback! Gasp! Thanks you guys are great, please keep enabling me, it helps me sleep at night. Sorry it took so long to get this one out, my cat got sick of the holidays and we had to take him to the hospital. Then there was a line cut and no internet. The next chapter will be out as soon as I get it edited, promise!

**AlexisPryce**: I know how you feel, I am a bit fic hungry myself. I spent all last night working on Chapter 7 just because I wanted to see what was going to happen next, and boy did I have a headache when I went to bed. Although that could have been because I was trying to help someone with their Angel dialogue. He is so hard to write! Have fun with this chapter!

**Diane Weiss:** I promise to try not to do anything too bad to any of them. LOL! Actually it had never crossed my mind to have Evie and Angel together, I love Cordy/Angel but his curse still bugs me, have got to come up with a way to cure that. Oh well! I guess that is why I am feeling the need to write more. The e-mail list has been created, join it, please!

**Contania Ibbansard:** Right on! I love Wes/Fred, yeah obliviously they are just the cutest little couple. Thanks for the feedback, hope to hear more from you. 

**Cathrine:** Here is a hint, the sequel, read the sequel. There will be more A/C in the sequel. By the why, I have asked everyone, what is OTS? 

**Nuttyginger:** I am glad you got a good laugh out this. I stuck in some more funny parts, I try not to write all dark and gloomy. Enjoy!  


**Mrs O-Town: **Thanks, I worry about the plot a lot. But if you say you like it I believe you. Sorry the wait was so long for this chapter.  



	7. Subjuctive

**Disclaimer**:  I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.

**Pairings**:  I promise it will be Wes/Fred and C/A, you are just going to have to wait a bit.

**Distribution**:  As far as I know, WesleyFred mailing list, Angelfic mailing list, Fanfiction.net, Bookish, A Whole New World, Majiks World of Fan Fic, Coffeerooms, and Hello World: Fan Fiction is Fun.  Anyone else, ask first, please!

**Author's Note**: Quick one, There is only one more chapter left of this story. And as always replies to the feedback at at the bottom of the page

**Thank Yous**:  To my beta MeriBeth who told me that I was doing the right thing and that it really could be spelt Bast or Bastet.  To my readers for being so understanding during the family emergency that I had to deal with and waiting so nicely for this next chapter to be put up.

**Update Notification**:  There has been a list created to let people know about updates, if you have not received e-mail about it here is the link to get on it.  Or you can just give a shout out in feedback form and I can sign you up directly to the list. To Subscribe: angelfic_update-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Also you can sign up at my web page: http://members.fortunecity.com/annabellefic/

**Prequel and Sequel News**:  If you haven't joined the e-mail list you will want to.  The Prequel, titled English Demons will be coming out and it deals with Giles and Evie's relationship and gives more hints to the connection between Evie and Fred.  Also the Sequel is in the works.  It will be called That Christmas Thing.  It is a direct sequel to this story.****

**Yellow** – Chapter 7: Subjuctive  
_by Annabelle_

Giles watched her with worry.  She had lost massive amounts of blood and passed out before they got her to the hotel.  He saw her try to open her eyes when he was talking to her and placing the washcloth on her face but she was too weak to respond.  He told Fred that everything was going to be alright, and he wished with every fiber of his being that he was right.  She had been wavering in and out of consciousness for the past three days, which was just long enough for Bastlian mating season to be over.

Everyone had been taking turns sitting with Evelyn.  Somewhere between last night and this morning her body took on a will of its own and changed back into her human form.  When Evie morphed she scared Gunn witless, as he was the one sitting with her at the time.  It had been a rather hilarious scene to watch unfold and the memory brought a smile to his face.

"Hey there smile man," Evie's voice was scratchy.

"Good afternoon," said Giles.

Evie sat up a little and regretted the action.  "Afternoon?  Already?" she put her hand to her head.

"Yes technically," Giles got up to get her some water.  "But it is afternoon three days after you went to sleep."

"Three days!" he heard her yelp from the bed.  "It doesn't feel like it has been that long."

"Well you were sleeping."

Evie looked down at her arms that were covered in cuts and buries.  "Do I remember being exsanguinated?" she asked when she found a gash healing on her stomach.

"You do," Giles handed her the water.  "How much do you recall?"

"It is fuzzy really," Evie slipped her water slowly.  Then she noticed the eye that he was giving her.  "Oh all right!  I remember the whole lot of it!   But believe me I don't want to.  I even remember changing back into human form in front of Gunn, but I swear that wasn't my fault."

"Yes well, you gave him a bit of a shock but I am sure he is over it now," Giles got up and started to pace the room.

Putting her water down on a near by nightstand Evelyn got a very serious look on her face.  "So," she prompted him.

"So?" his questioning look only infuriated her because she suspected that he was playing dumb on purpose.

"Tell me what has been going on in the hotel," her voice was full of excitement.  "With Angel and Cordelia not to mention Fred and Wesley.  I mean come on dad!  Inquiring minds want to know!"

"Nothing has been going on," Giles gave her a slight scowl.  "Angel and the others have been running their operation normally with the exception of having someone watch you.  Wesley and Fred have pretty much been avoiding each other.  And Connor is just he cutest little baby you ever saw."

"Hello," Evie was offended.  "Your own daughter is laying right hear listening to this abuse."

"Oh, sorry," He gave her a wicked smile.

"So all of my hard work has gone to waste?" Evie started to pout.  "Well I am not about to let my suffering be for nothing.  After all I did almost mate with that green thing."

"Evie!" the sharp tone that Giles spoke with let her know that she was in trouble.  "First of all that is a very mean thing to say about Lorne.  Secondly, if I didn't know better I would say that you let yourself get better on purpose to play matchmaker."

"Did not, would not," Evie shook her head at him.  "I just thought why not use what I had to my advantage.  Besides, I don't have that much control over it.  It is all mostly instinct.  Acting off what is already there and stuff like that."  Evie pointed her finger at him.  "You were the one that left two girls and two boys here when you knew very well that I was getting better!"

Giles scoffed at her.  "Well I still think that you should go apologize to Gunn and Lorne.  You want to have them on your side after all."

She fell back into her pillows and sulked.  "I don't want to!"

"Evie," he warned her.

"Oh alright," she stuck her bottom lip out at him.  "But if they start to hit on me I will blame you completely.  It is not really my fault that I become this sex-crazed demon who can't control her actions.  How come I have to be held responsible for the actions of those around me?  It's not fair.  And why do I need them on my side anyway?  I expect the Council will be wanting us to go back to England any day now."

"Well," Giles sat back down next to her.  "I got a call from Quinten this morning."

"Oh lovely," she smiled at him.  "How is my favorite godfather doing?"  Giles glared at her.  "What?  Just because you don't like him I have to hate him too?  He has never been anything but nice, truthful, and thoughtful to me."

"Truthful!" Giles said in a huff.

"Can we please not do this right now," Evie put her hand on his.  "I know you don't like him and you know I do.  Let's just agree that we don't agree about him."  She felt him relax, "Now what did he say?"

Giles smiled at her for a moment then moved to take off his glasses and clean them, "He said that I was to stay here and be Buffy's Watcher again."

"What!" Evie sat straight up and looked as if she were about to kill someone.  "Okay, now I agree with you.  He is a horrible man and a liar!   He told me that you would be staying in England with all of us and that he was going to send a new Watcher to Buffy.  He promised!"

"Evelyn please calm down," Giles was trying his best to keep a straight face.  "He does not want you going back to England either."

"Oh no!" Evie stood up out of bed nearly knocking her father over in the process.  "If he thinks that he can just kick me out of my own house he'd better think again.  I'll…" She stopped her rant because she noticed something.  There was a picture of her and Fred on the nightstand next to the water glass.  It was from when they were little girls in Texas.  She looked around the room and started to notice other things that were hers.  Things that were suppose to be in her townhouse, which was just outside of Luton so that she was between Oxford, Cambridge, and London.  "These are mine," Evie reached out and touched a small porcelain cat that was sitting on the dresser.  Then she looked down at her clothes, "Hey, this is my favorite pair of pajamas, how did you know?"

"James told me," Giles tensed for a second at the thought of the other Watcher knowing what his daughter liked.  "He sent over some of the stuff that he knew you would want here.  The rest is being taken to Winbourne in Oxfordshire."

"Ahh," she sat back down on the bed.  "The Giles family estate that stands tall and proud in the county with the big school.  Warms your heart really.  It is nice to be well off."

Giles laughed at her, "Well that is what happens when your family has been involved with a council of elite men and women for generations."

"Yeah but they aren't smart enough to know when not to let things be," Evie frowned at him.  "I worked hard to get those people together and you didn't even notice it.  Some watcher you are.  Can't even notice when two people are destined to be with each other."

He looked at the floor rubbed his temples a little.  "If they were destined to be with each other then they will still be with each other.  Just let time take its course," he gave her a look that said, let the powers that be do their own job.

"Time takes way too long," she said pointedly.  "Now I am going to take a shower and then see what I can rectify from the situation.  There has to be some way to still make things turn out the way that they are suppose to."  She walked into the bathroom and called out behind her, "Where there is a will there is a way!  Carpe Diem!"

"Let sleeping dogs lie," Giles countered.  He knew that it was not possible for her though.  When Evelyn got it in her head to do something it was more than likely it would be done.  Sighing he left the room to go tell everyone that she was up.

"So she is all de-demoned," Cordy was very apprehensive about the whole thing.  The idea of this half demon staying at the hotel with Angel and Connor did not set well with her.

"I assure you she is perfectly safe until next year," Giles tried to sound more confident than he felt.  "And by then we will all know more about the whole thing and what to do about it."

"Yeah as long as she does not take anyone's head of by then," Cordelia retorted.  Then she stood next to Angel who was holding his son.  "And what about Connor?  How safe is he going to be with her around?"

"Connor will be fine," Giles felt exasperated by all the questions that he had to answer over the past few days.

Cordy shook her head, "I don't know about that."

"Now see here," Giles started to raise his voice but Fred interrupted him.

"Look, I know that ya all and Evie got off on the wrong foot, but the truth is that you don't really know her," Fred's voice was quiet and determined.  "But I do.  I've known her all my life and there isn't anyone on this Earth that I trust more with my life.

"Evie is the most loyal friend one could hope to have.  The reason she came to LA in the first place was out of concern for me.  She would never do anything to anyone that I cared about.  She is a good decent person.  And if I had a child there isn't anyone who I would want protecting my baby besides her."

Everyone was quiet now.  No one knew what to say at all.  Then Wesley came up behind Fred, "It is okay Fred.  We know how much having here her means to you."

"Yeah," Gunn agreed.  "Besides, girl's got no where else to go.  That Watchers Council kicked her out of house and country."

Fred turned to look at Angel expecting him to say something.  Cordelia was giving him the same look.  "She can stay here," he said with a little sigh.  Cordy glared at him.  He turned to her, "Gunn is right, she has no where else to go.  Plus Giles says she knows a lot about demons from working with the Council."  Then he leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Besides Fred likes her and has really been changed since she got here."

"Fine," Cordelia submitted to the pressure from the people around her.  "We will give her a chance."  Fred smiled at her.  "But only because she knows how to cook."

Everyone managed to suppress their laughter as Cordelia acted like the decision to let Evelyn stay was up to her.  Fred let out a small breath of relief.  She was thankful that her friends were going to try to accept Evie.  For now everything would be prefect, it would be just like old times.  She tried to shake off the bad thoughts that came to her mind about what would have happened if Evie had not be allowed to stay.  She would have had to go with her back to England and she really did not think that her friends here would have understood why.

She and Evelyn were connected and their bond was strong and newly reinforced.  The powers had a plan for them and she knew that were Evelyn was she was to be.  It was just the way things where suppose to be, the guardian and her charge.  Fred smiled a little when she felt Wesley's worried gaze fall on her.  She could not explain to him though, it was still a little unclear to her.  What was clear was that her soul and Evie's had been connected before this lifetime, and for lifetimes before they had always found each other and were always side-by-side.  It was just part of the plan, although what that plan was she could not say.  Turning to Wesley she took his hand to try to reassure him and herself at the same time.

"Are you okay Fred," Wesley asked her softly.  He ignored the others who were giving him looks.

"I am fine Wesley," she laughed a little.  "Actually I don't think I could be much better.  Everything is the way it suppose to be."

"What do you mean," Angel asked her.

Fred shook her head a little, "I don't know.  But it feels right."  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cordelia shake her head but she ignored it.

"Hey everyone," Evie called out from the bottom of the steps.  "Happy to see me?"  She laughed nervously.  No one said anything.  "Okay," she looked at her feet.  "Well um, I guess you know that the Watchers Council wants me to stay here in LA so I just wanted to say thanks to Angel for letting me store my stuff here for now and I promise that Fred and I will be out of here as soon as I can find a good apartment."

"What do you mean?" Wesley tried not to raise his voice.

Evie gave him a sad look, "I am her guardian.  It is a lot easier to watch over someone if you live in the same place.  Besides it will be a safer for her to be away from your demon hunting life style."  She moved to stand next to her father.  He was giving her a strange look and Angel could swear that she smiled back at him.  But when she turned back to look at them the sadness from before had returned to her face.

Wesley was in total shock.  He did not know what to say.  The conversation that they had all just had left his mind completely. Here was this girl saying that she was going to have to take the Fred away and all he could see was red flags.  "What right do you have to tell her how to live?" his voice was full of anger.

"Wesley," Fred tried to calm him.

"No!" Wesley started to wave his hand violently at Evelyn.  "You have not been a part of her life for five years now.  What makes you think that she even wants you back?  She is her own woman now and she does not have to do anything that she doesn't want to."

"Wesley," Angel tried this time.

"Look I am sorry," inside her head Evelyn was laughing.  This was going exactly how she had planned.  "But this is the way it has to be.  I am the one who was sent to care for her.  It is my responsibility to make sure that she as safe as she can be."

"Evie," Giles wanted for this discussion to stop before it spun out of control.

"You think that she will be safer with someone who turns into an uncontrollable pheromone producing demon once a year than with people who fight monsters professionally?"  Wesley looked as if a vein was going to pop out his head.  He was not about to let this happen without a fight.

"Now that is not fair!" Evie shouted back at him.  "That is the first time something like that ever happened.  The Council is always very careful.  Besides they would look after her when I couldn't."

"The Council," Wesley shouted even louder and then scoffed.  "The Council would not be able to protect anyone even if they had a how to do manual to read."

"Wesley!" Angel shouted this time.

"What!" Wesley painted a little because breathing was starting to become hard for him.

"Evie is going to be staying here at the hotel," Angel tried to speak calmly even though he felt like smacking Wesley senseless.  "Remember the conversation that we all just had about two seconds ago."

Wesley let his mouth fall open.  "Oh well," he felt color start to rise in his face.  "Right then.  You aren't going anywhere because you and Fred are suppose to be staying here."

Evelyn bit her lip to keep her from laughing.  Then when she felt she could speak again she tried her best to sound endearing, "Thank you so much Angel.  But it really isn't necessary.  It would be very easy for me to get an apartment and the Council will pay for it."

"No, no," Angel held up his hand.  "It is really alright.  Besides if you don't accept I will have an angry mob on my hands I really don't want to have to deal with that."  He looked at Wesley then back at Evie.  "Really, really I don't want to have to deal with it, please.  I am begging ya."

Evie couldn't help it this time.  She laughed, "Alright, I'll stay."

"It is settled then," Giles sighed.  "You are staying and after you are set up here I will be going back to Sunnydale."

"So you are really going back," Evie said.  She frowned inwardly at the thought of him returning to his former life.

Giles nodded, "Yes, but it won't be like last time.  I promise."  Evie gave him a doubtful look but he just smiled at her.  "Now don't you have something that you have to go do?"

Now Evelyn just scowled at her father, "Yes."

"Where are you going Evie," Fred asked.

"Trust me," Evie opened the doors of the hotel with a heavy heart.  "You don't want to know."  She was gone before anyone could say anything else.

"And you say I am dramatic," Angel looked at Cordelia.

She pretended not to hear what he said.  "Where is she going," Cordy asked Giles.  She had to be in the know; it was just the way things were around here.

"To talk to Lorne," Giles looked at the hotel doors.  "And apologize."

"Oh," was all anyone could say.  At that moment they all knew that they would rather not be in Evelyn's shoes.  She was doing the right thing, but it certainly was not the easy thing.

"Hey, she didn't apologize to me," Gunn sounded a little offended.

Giles tried not to roll his eyes.  "She will, believe me.  She will."

**Feedback on Feedback**: Keep it coming, just a little bit more. LOL! Well I am back folks and I thank all of you for you well wishes and feedback. Sorry I was out a little longer than expected, I got sick on the way home and had a high fever for like three days. It seems like weeks ago even though it was only days ago, funny how time works like that. Well anyway I hope you enjoy this. Let me know!

**whtigress0**: Wow! Really? One of the most original? I am blushing now. Thanks so much for your high praise. I hope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the rest of the story. 

**Mrs O-Town**: Thanks for your sympathy and your feedback. I am sorry that it took so long for me to get this up, but I really hope that you like it. After I got back into town I had a terrible fever for a few days so I was out. Can't wait to hear what you think. 

**Nuttyginger**: Thanks for understanding. Everything is starting to go back to normal now. I am working on the prequel and sequel. This fic is almost done so I have to keep my name out there somehow. I hope you enjoy it.

**AlexisPryce**: Thanks for the prays and the good thoughts, gosh I feel like I am saying thanks a lot. Anyway I am back now and ready for feedback. Thanks so much, enjoy!

**Isabel**: Wait just a little bit more for the sequel, there is still one more chapter left. Thanks for the praise, it keeps me writing.

**firefly**: firefly doesn't have to wait for the sequel because there is still one more chapter, I wouldn't leave you guys hanging like that. LOL! The sequel is coming but wait for it, Yellow is still not quite finished. 

**Cathrine**: There is some A/C in the last chapter but it is really going to be more focused on in the sequel. Evie's got a whole plan for those two for Christmas but I am not telling what it is, you will just have to wait and find out.  



	8. Future Tense

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own Angel or any of the characters from the show. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.

**Pairings:**  I promise it will be Wes/Fred and C/A, you are just going to have to wait a bit.

**Distribution:**  As far as I know, WesleyFred mailing list, Angelfic mailing list, Fanfiction.net, Bookish, A Whole New World, Majiks World of Fan Fic, Coffeerooms, Is It *That* Obvious?, and Hello World: Fan Fiction is Fun.  Anyone else, ask first, please!

**Author's Note:**  This is it, the last chapter!  For my fans here at Fanfiction.Net though you get a bonus.  In the next few days I will be posting a deleted scene from Yellow.  Why do I feel like a DVD special?

**Thank Yous:**  To my beta MeriBeth who told me I better finish this or else.  To my readers for being so understanding during the family emergency, for standing by me, and for giving me all that love feed back.  I hope you really enjoy this chapter. Replies to feedback below.

**Update Notification:**  There has been a list created to let people know about updates, if you have not received e-mail about it here is the link to get on it.  Or you can just give a shout out in feedback form and I can sign you up directly to the list. To Subscribe: angelfic_update-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Also you can sign up at my web page: http://hwffif.tripod.com/

**Prequel and Sequel News:**  If you haven't joined the e-mail list you will want to.  The Prequel, titled English Demons will be coming out and it deals with Giles and Evie's relationship and gives more hints to the connection between Evie and Fred.  Also the Sequel is in the works.  It will be called That Christmas Thing.  It is a direct sequel to this story.****

**Yellow **– Chapter 8: Future Tense  
_by Annabelle_

Lorne threw down the papers that he was looking over when he heard a knock on the door.  "Can't a body get a moments peace around here?" he grumbled making his way to the entrance.  He opened the door and was about to shout at the person to come back in two days when he saw who was standing in the doorway

"Hi," she said meekly.  At first Evelyn did not look at him and then when she did make eye contact it was only for a few seconds.

Lorne looked her over for a moment before he spoke again.  "Well you look more British today," his tone was emotionless.

"Huh," Evie did not understand first.  Then she looked down at the dress she was wearing.  If you had been in England every other woman you saw would be wearing one like it.  "Yes," she stammered a bit.  "Well my, I mean a friend of mine sent some stuff over while I was sleeping."

"A friend?"

Evie blushed a bit then remembered the reason she was there.  "Do you mind if I come in?  I promise that I won't wreck anything."

He moved aside to let her in.  "Good because your Watcher friends have been working night and day to get this place in order.  I am not going to have to change my Grand Opening date."

"Oh, that's good," Evie was trying her best to sound causal.  "I am happy they could help you out."

"They were very nice," Lorne matched her tone.  He moved behind the counter of the bar and felt her follow him.  He did not look at her while he poured himself a drink.  "They had a lot of questions about you.  About what happened and such."

Evelyn could feel the heat start to rise in her cheeks.  She had taken a seat in front of him and looked at him.  "Well," she was not sure what to say.  "I don't really care about that.  Those guys don't have much of a life.  If you are not watching an active Slayer you are pretty much stuck doing research and checking up on prophecies."

"So being the Watcher of a Slayer is a big honor," he asked.

"Oh yes," Evie gushed.  "It is what every Watcher dreams of.  That or being a head member of the Council, but that only happens when you are like 60."

"Then you must be very happy for your father," he looked at her with something odd in his expression.  It almost looked like he was saying, gotcha.

Evie's mouth fell open.  She realized what he had been doing and it angered her.  "Look, I came here to apologize to you about what happened the other night, not to get a lecture about how I should treat my father."

"Really," Lorne's eyes had disbelief in them.  "Honey you are radiating off a whole bunch of mixed of emotions but none of them is regret."

"Piffle!" Evie shouted back.  "Shows you how much you know.  I regret that I ever came here.  You are impossible to talk to."  She stood up and started to head to the door.  "I am sorry about what happened," she said turning around.  "It may have not be my fault but it shouldn't have happened.  Have fun at your Opening."  She made a break for the outside world.

"Wait!" Lorne called out after her.  Evie sighed and turned around.  "You are right, I am sorry.  I'll accept your apology if you will accept mine, okay?"

"On one condition," Evie crossed her arms in front of her and waited for him to agree.  He nodded his response, "You tell me what happened to Fred.  You said you were from Plyea and I know that is where she was.  Tell me everything."

"She hasn't told you," he was confused now.  From what Angel had told him about Evie he thought that she was the one person that Fred would tell everything to.

"I know she spent a good deal of time in a cave and on the run," Evie shuttered as she thought back to a few nights ago.  She and Fred had stayed up most of the night just talking.  "I get the feeling though that she was holding something back."

"Well you would know better than anyone," Lorne informed her.  "I don't know what happened to her.  I was here enjoying this lovely world of yours.  When she came back though she was not all that stable.  No one knew that much about her until her parents showed up and even then she never talked about her past.

"Everyone was shocked to have you turn up.  That and the fact that you were Mr. Giles daughter, granted I don't know about what went down in Sunnydale but I figured that he had to be pretty trustworthily if Angel was involving him with plans about Connor."

"You think you know him?"  Evie felt a swell of pain come to her throat.  "Then you are lucky.  All my life I have never known him, he is my father and I don't even know him.  You want to know the most tragic thing, he doesn't know me either."

"Sounds like you got some pent up aggression there sweetie," Lorne started to pour her a drink.  "This might help," he pointed to the drink.

"I don't drink," Evie did not move from where she was standing.  "I don't really want to talk about this.  My problems with my father are his and mine.  We are working on it."

"Doesn't sound like you have gotten very far," Lorne motioned for her to sit down again.

Evie sighed and shook her head, "No, I can't do this right now.  I am sorry, again."  She turned back to the door.

"When you are ready," he called after her.  "I'll be here."

"Thanks," she looked at him and smiled.

Lorne watched her leave and muttered, "Strange girl."

Gunn was sitting on the round couch in the lobby playing Gameboy.  He was watching the others around him really.  He had been doing that for days.  Watching Angel and Cordy as they just avoided any talk about what happened between them.  Fred and Wesley who did not even bother to try to be in the same room with each other.  And watching Giles as he just general worried over everything that was going on.  When the older British was not sitting with his daughter he was yelling on the phone to some guy named James.

He turned his head when he heard the door start open slowly.  Evie walked in and closed the door without looking at the room to see who was there.  She looked a little put off, or so he thought.  "Hey," he turned off his Gameboy.

"Geez," Evie gasped.  "What is it with you people and scaring each other?"

"Sorry," Gunn gave her a silly grin.

Evie calmed her breathing.  "It's okay," she checked to see if there was anyone else around.  "So, where is everyone?"

Gunn's smile faded, "I think Cordy is with Connor and Angel is doing the sleep thing.  Fred and Wes are on opposite sides of the hotel.  And your dad left saying something about talking to some friends of his."

"Oh," Evie walked down the steps of the lobby and stood in front of him.  "Well then, umm did he say anything about someone named James or Peter?"

"Nope."

Evie nodded, "Alright then."  She was not looking at him.  She kept eyes moving around the room and she started to rub her shoulder.  "So."

Gunn did not say anything he just looked at her.  He could tell that she was flustered.  Finally he decided that he did not want to torture her.  He patted the seat next to him on the couch.

"Why does everyone want to get me to sit down," Evie frowned.  "You know some people do like to stand."

"You can stand if you want," he shrugged.

Evie looked at him for a second.  She did not want to give him the upper hand in this discussion, "No.  I will sit."  She flopped down a section of the couch next to him.  She looked up at the ceiling and took in a deep breath.  Evie really did not want to do this but she had to and she knew it.  "Look Gunn," she started.  "I…  You know…  Well see the thing is…"

Gunn held up his hand.  If she kept this up they would be sitting there until next month.  "Look it's okay girl.  Don't worry about.  You aren't the first one around here who lost control of their, umm emotions."

"Really?" Evie was shocked.

"Yeah I mean Angel was all and then there was the time when Wesley and I," Gunn saw her looking at him.  "Why don't we save that story for another day, huh?"

Evie eyed him for a moment, "You know I am going to find out sooner or later."

"Probably."

She inched closer to him, "And wouldn't you rather it be from you?"

He looked at her and then stood up so quickly that he dropped his Gameboy, "Nah uh!  There is no amount of pheromone mojo that you can put on me that will make me tell."

"Come on," Evie got up and leaned in close to him.  "Please!"

"No!"

The doors to the hotel opened at moment and in walked Giles and other man who looked about Wesley's age maybe a little younger.  Giles was horrified at the scene in front of him, "Evie!"  He moved quickly to her and grabbed her arm.  "What are you doing?"

"I thought you said the mating season was over Rupert," laughed the other man.

"Peter," Evie cried out in joy and ran to hug him.

Peter laughed and hugged her back, "Nice to see you to Evie Rosie."

Evie smiled and looked around him, "And where is James?"

Peter looked at Giles and then back at Evelyn.  "He isn't here," he backed away from her and looked at the ground.

"Well when is he coming then?" Evelyn felt her heart jump into her throat.  She knew that something was wrong.  She could feel the tears forming in her eyes, "He's not, he couldn't be?"

"Oh god no," Peter felt so bad for her.  "No it is not that at all."  He could see the pain start to course through her body and he did not have the heart to tell the truth anymore, "He is just busy right now.  You know he is Quinten's favorite.  Well the old man got him so bogged down in work.  But he did say that he would call you as soon as he got a chance."

"God Peter," Evie hit him on his arm.  "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry dear."

Evie had totally forgotten there was anyone else in the room but her friend, "Well come on then.  I will show you my room and you can tell him all about it and make him jealous when you get back."  She laughed and took his arm to lead him upstairs.

Gunn and Giles stood at the bottom of the stairs watching them.  Finally Gunn said something, "Who is James?"

Giles let out a breath, "The man that will break her heart."

"Come on Connor," Cordy tried to stop the baby from crying.  "Please!"

"Here," Angel took his son from her.  He cooed to the baby and made gurgling noises.  Connor started to quiet down at the sound of his father's voice.

"You are supposed to getting some rest," Cordelia did not look at him.  Instead she moved to make some formula for Connor and clean up around the room.

"I couldn't sleep."  Angel changed his tone, "Besides where else would I want to be but with my little guy, huh?  Hey Connor.  Hello."

Cordelia handed him the bottle a bit roughly, "Fine."

"Cordy this has to stop," Angel switched Connor around in his arms.  "You are upsetting him."

"Well I am so sorry," she hissed back at him.

"Cordelia what is the problem here," Angel watched as she avoided eye contact with him.  He sighed and put Connor in his cradle.  "You are going to have too look at me one of these days you know."

"The problem is that you and I almost and now you are acting like nothing happened," she practically yelled.

"Cordy I," Angel's voice was so soft that she almost couldn't hear him.

She threw her arms up in the air, "Fine forget it!"  Then she stormed out of the room.

"Connor," Angel picked up his son and looked at him in the eyes.  "Stay away from women.  Really it will make your life much easier."

"Oof!" Evie grumbled when someone rushing by her pushed her into a wall.

"I'm sorry," Cordelia saw who she has just plowed over.  "On second thought I am not."

"Tense much," Evie rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder.

"You know this is all your fault," Cordy pointed her finger at Evie.  "Everything that has happened is your fault."

"Okay," Evie was confused.  "I am gonna just agree with you on that one.  Yeah this is all my fault."

"See," Cordelia shouted.  "Even you agree with me.  So why the hell is he letting you stay here?  Doesn't he know that you are just going to cause more trouble?"

"I am the second strongest person here and I got the Council wrapped around my little finger," Evie suggested.

"We were doing just fine before you came," Cordelia kept ranting.  "And we would still do just fine without you."

"I am sure of it," Evie was starting to tire of people trying their best not to get along with her.  "But you know you might just find that having me around is very useful.  I have good night vision and I am quick on my feet.  Plus I know just as many languages as Wesley does.  Oh and I locked Wesley and Winnie in the atrium so that they would be forced to talk to each other."

"You did what?" Cordelia was in total shock.

"Come on," Evie motioned to her to one of the rooms that over looked the atrium.  "I'll show you."

They looked out the window and saw the two figures down below.  Wesley was pulling at the door and pounding at it.  No one was answering him though.

Cordelia chuckled, "How long have they been in there for?"

"Just about five minutes," Evie smiled down at her friend.  "They will start talking soon.  My way of saying sorry to them."

"Really now," Cordy sounded very unsure of Evie's methods.

Evie leaned forward a little bit more and strained to see more clearly what was going on.  "Yep.  Don't worry though.  I won't do that to you and Angel."

"Thanks, I think."  Cordelia tilted her head, "Why not?"

Evie leaned against the window with her elbows propped against the sill, "You guys are going to take a lot more then just being locked up in a room."  She laughed and then started to walk out of the room.  "Come on.  We will be able to hear them better downstairs."  Walking downstairs to the lobby she left a rather confused Cordelia up on the second floor of the hotel.

"Wesley," Fred got his attention.  "I don't think that is going to work.  Gunn is in the basement and Giles is taking Evie's friend back to his hotel.  I don't think anyone is going to hear us."

"I guess you are right," Wesley gave the atrium doors one last good kick.  "God, what are this things made out of?  I don't remember them being this strong."

"Angel had them reinforced," Fred walked to one of the benches and sat down.  "Just in case."

"It was a good idea," Wesley kept staring at the door.  "What I can't figure out is how we got locked out?  I mean I didn't even notice that you were in here when I came outside."

Fred shrugged.  She looked up the sky and watched the stars.  It was a warm night in Los Angeles for being so late in the year.  It reminded her of being at home and all those nights that she and Evie would sneak out and then it dawned on her.  "I am going to kill her," Fred muttered under her breath.

"What did you say," Wesley turned his head from the door.

"Nothing," Fred lied but she knew that from his look he was not convinced.  "I was just saying that glaring at the door will not make it open."

"I know but it makes me feel better," he sulked and looked back at the door.

Fred sighed at him.  She knew that the likelihood of Evie putting a spell on the door keeping them locked up was great.  'I wish I never let her pick up a magic book,' she thought.  'She may not be a witch but she can still cause a world of trouble when she wants to.'  She tried to sum up all of her courage with the last thought that it was now or never.  "Why do you always avoid me?" she asked Wesley in a tone to show much she was hurt by his actions and how confused she was.

"What," Wesley whipped around to look at her.  "Me avoid you?  What you about you avoiding me!  I mean you are the one who as soon as you see me turns and runs in the other direction.  Not walk, literally run."

"Only because you started it," Fred yelled back.

"Started what!" Wesley countered.  Then he looked up at the sky and laughed.  "This is ridiculous."

Before he could say anything else Fred burst in to tears.  She had misunderstood what he was saying and thought he meant that the idea of them being together was ridiculous.  She buried her face into her hands and let the sobs take over her body.

"Oh Fred," Wesley sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her.  "I am so sorry.  I just assumed that you, well that you didn't remember."

"Not remember," Fred chocked a bit on another sob and then pulled away from him.  "How could I not remember what happened and then in the car.  I mean, well."

"Then why were you avoiding me," Wesley was unsure of himself and of her.

"I was waiting for you to… and then you didn't," Fred sputtered.  "I got scared that you…"

Wesley took her face in his hands and forced her too look him in the eyes, "Fred you don't have to be scared.  I know what you feel like but really there is no reason."

Fred let the last tear roll down her face but no more followed.  Her lips started to trembled, "Yes there is."

He slowly brushed away the tear.  His own fears were starting to take over and he knew he would have to say what he wanted to soon or he would lose his nerve, "No there isn't."

"It wasn't her pheromones," the both blurted out at the same time.  Fred a little louder than Wesley.  When she realized what happened she blushed and turned away.

Evie let out a squeal, "It worked!  It worked!"

"Evie!" Giles called out to her from the door of the hotel.  "What are you doing?"

She whipped around and hid something behind her back, "Nothing.  I am not doing anything."

"She's lying," Angel sniffed the air a little.

"Damned vampires!" Evie cursed.  Before she could move Angel and Giles were at either side of her.  Picking her up by her shoulders.  "Hey put me down!"

"Evie you really should learn to mind your own business," her father scolded her.

Angel nodded, "It is not nice to spy on other people."

"But you don't," Evie struggled against them.  Then she saw Cordelia coming toward them.  "Wesley and Fred," she exclaimed.  "First real kiss.  Get a picture," tossing the camera she held in her had before Angel or Giles could take it away.

Cordelia caught the camera with ease and dashed around Gunn who was walking into the room.  She started to head for the office but Evie shouted out the word atrium.  Almost tripping over her shoes she got to the doors turning the handle as quickly and quietly as she could.  She stepped softly into the courtyard and saw Wesley and Fred sitting on the bench.  They were kissing and without them noticing her she snapped the picture and dashed back inside before they could react to the flash.

"I got it," Cordy shouted in excitement as she held the camera up in her hands.

Fred and Wesley did not turn around though.  They did not hear Cordelia shouting to the others about her success.  Nor did the notice the sounds of running and excited yelling by the people in the lobby who were chasing each other around.  They were lost in their own world and everything else faded around them.  They separated for a moment but only to stare into each other's eyes.  No words passed between them, there was no need for any.  Then the kissed again and let the night drift away.

**Feedback Replies: **As I said above thanks so much all of you for sticking by me. I am so happy that you have enjoyed this little story and am grateful that you have been so supportive of me. I hope that you will enjoy the prequel and the sequel just as much. Oh, by the way, in the deleted scene post I will not be replying to any feedback, so this is the last story attached reply regarding Yellow.

P.S. - If you want replies to your feedback this time around leave your e-mail address, I will answer any questions that do not give away too much of the sequel or prequel's plot, and I will answer any questions about Yellow's plot. I will probably just reply to feedback that has questions to it. I have started school so time is an issue

**happydapy:** Woohoo! New reader! I love new readers, their so new and shiney. Sorry, goofiness has taken over at this point. I am so happy that you liked this story and I hope that you will read both the prequel and the sequel. Thanks for the support! 

**whtigress0:** This is it, lol! The last chapter, but there will be more later, sequel and what not. Thanks for the feedback and please don't stop reading! 

**Logan:** I am so glad that you liked this story. I really did try to make it a story that anyone would like. Thanks for you support and I hope you like the prequel and sequel just as much! 

**nuttyginger:** LOL, I agree with you. I am happy to know that I have one sure ready of both the prequel and the sequel, besides my beta. Fred is getting a bit of the spotlight here isn't she? I would do the same for the others, but she speaks to me and the others just keep their backs turned. Thank you so much for giving me so much feedback of the course of this story. You have been with me pretty much since the beginning and that means so much to me. Thank you again! 

**Diane Weiss:** Evie is mischievous by nature, kinda like cats, hmm I wonder? Giles will be around until after the new year, then he goes back to Sunnydale. If Giles comes back to LA I don't think he will bring the Scoobies, but if they decide to drop in of their own accord? Well you never know? Well if you read this before you read the story for shame because major spoiler: Evie is little miss matchmaker, but I would have to say that she is doing it mostly for Fred. As for Evie and Lorne they did not get further than what you read, remember big male kitty cat trying to make Lorne into cat food? As for Gunn, wait for the sequel. Okay I think that is all the questions and comments I had, if I missed anything ask me again. Thanks so much for you support, it means a lot to me!

**Emily:** I am writing, I'm writing, LOL! I am very happy that you like this story. I have had my worries about and my moments where I was like, do I even like this story? Anyway I hope you enjoy the upcoming stories just as much. Thanks for reading! 

**Cathrine:** I am sorry to hear about your mother, I know how hard something like that can be. You don't sound like a hippocrite. There were some hints of A/C, weren't there? Don't worry though here is a little secret just between me, you, and anyone else who reads this, there will be a lot more A/C in That Christmas Thing, I have to deal with one couple at a time here. Thanks for the support! 

**firefly:** Thanks firefly, I did have a nice day today, well until I had to go to class anyway. I am so happy that you like the story. I hope that you will enjoy the prequel and the sequel just as much. Thank you for the feedback, keep reading!  



	9. *BONUS*

**Disclaimer: **Anyone that you recognize from Angel or Buffy The Vampire Slayer I don't own.  I have taken them down, dusted them off, and let them play with the characters that dance in my head, namely Evelyn, Peter, James, and anyone else who you have never seen or heard of.

**Author's Note: **This is a scene that was originally written to be in between chapters 3 and 4 of Yellow.  However it did not fit with the rest of the story so it was taken out.  It was reshaped to become a part of the prequel to Yellow called English Demons.  Only people at Fanfiction.net will get this preview of what will happen in English Demons, which will be posted in the Buffy section of FFNet.  Hope you enjoy.

Don't forget along with English Demons coming out the sequel to Yellow titled That Christmas Thing will be posted and around the same time too.

**English Demons ** – Deleted Scene from Yellow  
_by Annabelle_

Giles rapped on the door softly and waited to hear the muffled reply of his daughter before entering the room.  He closed the door behind him and looked at her.  She looked so pale and fragile lying in that bed.  Her hair was somewhat matted from the washcloth on her forehead.  Tiny beads of sweat were forming on her face.  After examining her for a moment he spoke.  "May I sit down," he asked her.

"Why not," Evelyn replied, her voice cool.  "I am surprised you even asked."

"Evelyn Rose," Giles started to scold her.  "I have had quite enough of this.  You have been attacking me since the moment you woke up and even before that.  You and I have started worked through our differences.  We have spent all this time doing nothing but talking and working with each other.  You even started to call me father," Giles paused because he felt a lump in his throat.  "So tell me.  What is really going on here?"

"Do you really think that a few weeks of talking makes up for all the times that you were never there," she hissed at him.  "I mean honestly, all of my life I have had to pay because of your mistakes."

"Evie," Giles's eyes were full of sadness.  "I am sorry for of that.  I really am.  But you said it yourself.  Everything happens for a reason."

Evie lied back into her pillows, "I know.  I know that in my mind, but in my heart."  She stopped.  Something was preventing her from finishing the sentence.

"What," Giles pressed her to continue.

"In my heart," Evie's voice was now choked with small sobs.  "In my heart there is this emptiness that should have you in it."

Giles was shocked.  He had no idea what to say or do.  There she was a grown woman who had become her own person without his help at all yet she was saying that she still needed him and wanted him in her life.  He carefully reached out his hand to cover hers and then held it gently as if it would shatter from too much pressure.

"You know," Evie's voice was barely audible.  "My favorite memory of you was when Winnie and I were seven.  We had just heard in school from a girl who moved from New York that she used to go and make snow angels with her friends around Christmas time.

"So Winnie and I got it into our heads that we could make snow angels too.  We didn't need snow.  We would do make them in the dirt.  So we went out into our back yard and started to make dirt angels.  Then I remember you had just arrived for the holidays and you and Aunt Nesse came into yard.  Aunt Nesse was yelling at Fred and me for ruining our cloths but you just laughed and smiled at us.  You picked me up, getting dirt all over you, and you called me your little angel," a small tear rolled down Evie's check.

"I remember that," Giles smiled at her.

Then Evie looked away from him.  "My worst memory of you is from just a few years ago," her voice became heated.  "Peter and James had told me that you had been fired from the Watchers Council.  So you would not be working with her anymore.  I was so excited.  I thought for sure that meant that you were going to come home for the holidays.  I called up and I asked you when you would be coming.  You said you weren't coming," Evie gulped down the lump that was forming in her throat.  "You said that you could not leave her because she needed you.  I begged you.  I cried on the phone and yelled at you.  I screamed that I was the one who was your daughter, that I was the one who needed you.  But you just told me that you couldn't come.  That you would try to call.  Then you hung up."

Giles held in his own emotions and quietly said, "I remember that too."

"Is that all you've got to say," Evie yelled at him.  "I remember that too!  I can't believe you.  Everything I have done.  All this years that I have worked so hard.  I did it so you would notice me.  So that you would for one moment remember that I was the one who was you daughter.  Not the bloody Slayer, who could care less about you."

"Take that back," Giles snapped at her.

"I most certainly will not," Evie kept shouting at him.  "She let you leave.  She let you go and didn't do a bloody thing about it.  In all the time that you have been here she hasn't once called you.  Not once begged you to come back, and you still defend her.  Where as I all my life have given you love and always left a door open so that you could come back into my life.  No Rupert, I will not take it back.  I love you, not her!"

Giles could not believe what he had just heard.  He did not understand how he could love her and be so angry with her in the same moment.  She had just told him that she loved him.  That she wanted him in her life but at the same time she had cursed Buffy.  His slayer, whom he had spent the last six years of his life with.  He had poured all of his energy into her.  At some point in time Buffy had be come a replacement for Evelyn.  Because he could no longer be a father to his daughter he would be a father to her and give her all the love and support that he wished that he could give to Evelyn.

Evelyn could no longer stand to look at him.  The injuries that she had were too great.  He was supposed to be watching her back.  But when the demon attacked her he had been too distracted to help her.  Just like every other time she need his help.  She knew that it was not really his fault.  He wanted to save the little girl that was being hunted.  Her mind told her to not close him off, that all these years this is what she had wanted.  To have her father.  This is what she had worked so hard for.  

She had pushed herself to learn all the fighting techniques that the Council would have taught a Slayer.  When they told her she was not good enough she pushed harder and learned the languages that were taught to the Watchers so that she could research with them and balance of her lack of strength with knowledge.  She had done everything to be the best daughter, a model daughter of the Watchers Council, but still he never noticed her.  

Now though, she was tired.  Tired and hurt and she no longer wanted to be that model daughter.  She was angry with Rupert Giles and angry with the rest of the world.  A world that could save her life but deny her the right to have a family.  This was a world that she did not want to be part of any more.

Evie turned her angry on Giles, "Get out.  Get out of my room, get out of my house, and get out of my life!  You never wanted to be a part of it.  Well guess what.  You got your wish!"

"Evie please," Giles was letting the tears roll freely down his face now.  "I never wanted that.  I wanted to be there for you.  To love you.  To pick you up when you fell off your bike.  But I couldn't.  The Council forced me to take you as my daughter but they never let me be your father."


End file.
